Lion's Pride
by VegaTenshi
Summary: Set post Freak Nation, Logan and Max are still working on finding a cure, Transgenics are arriving almost daily, Lydecker returns, and Alec is acting strangely. Alec/OFC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Alec groaned and rolled over, covering his head with his pillow as someone or something pounded on something nearby.

"Alec!" Max's voice rang out. She pounded her fist against his door several more times. "Alec! Rise and shine! I need my Ex. O!"

"Piss off!"

Max sighed, her eyes narrowing. "Lydecker!"

Alec's eyes shot open. He threw the pillow across the room and blurred to the door, whipping it open so quickly it ruffled Max's hair. "Where?"

"Not sure… Another one showed up a few hours ago." She murmured, her eyes shifting as Biggs opened his door to the right of Alec's, investigating the commotion no doubt. "He mentioned Lydecker."

"I'll meet you in Command." She nodded and Alec blurred into his bedroom again, rummaging for clothes.

*~*~*

"Alec, this is Eric." Max sighed as Alec entered her office.

The man named Eric smiled nervously, his blue eyes darting toward the door every few seconds. "X-Four, Four-Two-Four." He added.

"Where's Lydecker?" Alec asked suspiciously.

Eric shook his head. "We haven't seen him for months… I'm only here representing my charges."

"Your charges?" Max asked.

"There are six of us. Myself, three X-Fives, and two X-Sixes… we fled Manticore during the fire. Made it all the way to the Yukon."

"Where are the rest of them, then?" Max asked.

"Outside your fence-line, waiting for me." He answered respectfully. "May I bring them in, Ma'am? The outside world is making them anxious."

Max nodded. "Alec, go with him. Bring them in."

Alec nodded and he and Eric started off toward the fence line. "You guys have been out for a year now?"

"Four of us… Me, Blaine, Cara, and Liz… we met up with Rosie and Caleb when we made it to the Yukon. They've been out for about three years."

"Three years?"

Eric nodded. "They're the X-Sixes. They were out on a mission and went rogue."

"I never heard about it." he cocked an eyebrow skeptically.

"They kept it under wraps… figured it'd give the rest of us ideas."

They neared the fence and Alec saw five figures waiting for them on the other side. He immediately noticed a petite redhead watching him carefully, her green eyes wide with disbelief. The tall blond boy next to her was also watching him carefully.

"X-Five, Four-Nine-Three?" he called. Alec stopped dead, recognizing his twin's designation and the blond boy ducked his head in embarrassment.

"It's not Ben." He heard the redhead murmur quietly. "He's taller… leaner." Her eyes raked his face. "His eyes are brighter."

"You knew Ben?" Alec asked as they made it to the fence.

The redhead nodded. "I got injured evading a TAC Team in Chicago… Ben took care of me, got me to the border so I could rendezvous with Caleb." She answered, craning her neck to look into his eyes.

"You guys coming in?" Eric asked. One by one, they each leapt the fence, landing gracefully on the other side. "I hope we're not imposing."

"Not at all." Alec answered, his eyes still fixed on the tiny woman before him. "I'm Alec, by the way." He extended his hand to her.

She smiled sweetly and gently grasped his fingers. "Rosie. Designation X-Six, Four hundred."

"Nice to meet you, Rosie." He smiled, without really understanding why. "How does Lydecker factor into all this?" he glanced at Eric again, but the X-Four deferred to Rosie.

"He was in hiding in Vancouver… found him as we were making our way back down to the border." She answered. "He told me I needed to go to Seattle… Find Max." she frowned a little, her forehead creasing. "He never said why, just said to find Max."

Alec nodded. "Well, let's not keep her waiting." He turned on his heel and led them all back to Command. He noticed that while Rosie and Caleb fell into step easily, matching his stride, the others still marched as though following an officer. He glanced down carefully as Rosie's eyes darted around Terminal City suspiciously.

"There's an ordinary here." She murmured.

"There are several." He answered, but she shook her head.

"Can't you smell it? It's someone who's not here regularly." Her eyes narrowed and she stopped so suddenly that Eric walked right into her.

A clattering of metal on stone sounded behind them and they all whipped around to see a homeless man wander out of the dilapidated tenement on their right. While everyone else relaxed, Rosie and Caleb let out sharp hisses and crouched down.

"It's fine." Alec murmured, placing a hand on Caleb's shoulder. Rosie was crouched too low for him to reach easily.

Caleb shook his head. "He smells of gunpowder." He sprung at the man, knocking him over easily and tearing his long coat off. Alec's eyes widened as the torn fabric exposed an explosive vest. Rosie hissed again and Eric darted forward, quickly disabling the explosives.

"Caleb!" Rosie yelled. "Caleb, don't bite him." She spit into the dirt quickly.

"Why not?" Caleb growled. "I told you someone was tailing us!"

"Don't bite him! That's an _order_!"

A tall blond girl, one of the X-Fives, held up a hand to each of them beseechingly. "Don't fight you two."

"Stay out of this, Liz!" Caleb cried. He hunkered down again, ready to fight with Rosie if need be. "He deserves to die!"

"He's human! They're not the smartest bunch!"

"Then stop me." Rosie launched herself into the air and landed on Caleb with a loud crack. They rolled off the man and began trading blows, both of them hissing.

"Eric, stop them!" Liz shouted.

"I'm not immune to their venom, Liz!" Eric replied indignantly.

Rosie had gained the upper hand quickly. She landed a roundhouse kick to Caleb's head, knocking him out cold. She sighed and straightened up just as the intruder climbed shakily to his feet. She spit again, grimacing as though she were sucking a lemon. She quickly lifted Caleb onto her back and moved forward. "Let's go. He won't be out for long… and this guy needs time to get away." Alec nodded and started off again as Eric motioned for Rosie to hand Caleb over.

Rosie fell back into step alongside Alec while the others fell behind.

"What was Eric talking about? Venom?" he murmured to her.

Rosie smiled sheepishly. "Caleb and I are a bit… different from the rest of the X-Series." She sighed. "Instead of that shark DNA that keeps the rest of you from sleeping, we have snake DNA… where everyone else has tonsils, we have venom sacks." She spit again.

"So… you're poisonous." He stated lamely.

"Only if we want to be… when we're threatened, we automatically start producing venom… but otherwise, we're tame."

They'd reached Command, where Max and Logan were waiting for them. They were each wearing two pair of sterile gloves, duct taped to their sleeves, and were touching only their hands, drawing the newcomers attention immediately.

Logan smiled warmly. "Welcome to Terminal City."

"So what's the news on Lydecker?" Max asked, her eyes raking over each of them in turn.

"He sent them here." Alec answered.

"But Colonel Lydecker is dead." Logan added, confused.

Rosie shook her head. "Hiding." Her eyes shifted to Caleb, who was beginning to come to. Eric sat him down in a chair. "I'd back away from him, Ma'am." She added as Max made to examine him closer. "You're not immune to the venom."

Caleb's sandy blond hair shook as his head rolled forward and his eyes immediately found Rosie. "You _hit_ me." He snarled.

"You were going to bite him." She said simply.

Max looked worriedly between the two X-Sixes. "Venom?" she mouthed to Alec, but he shook his head, indicating he'd explain later.

"You hit your own _brother_, Rosie." Caleb continued to glare and his tongue darted out to lick his lips as he quickly tasted the room.

Rosie's cheeks reddened. "I'll hit you again if you try to kill an ordinary."

"I'm stronger than you." He snarled, blurring across the room and pinning her against the wall, his hand at her throat.

"Stop it!" Max yelled, but Caleb only tightened his grip on her neck.

Alec's eyes narrowed as Rosie's face went from red to puce and she gasped for breath. He blurred across the room so quickly, Caleb didn't have time to react, and threw the younger man against the opposite wall. Before he could think, he was crouching in front of Rosie, his lip curled in a snarl, and his eyes no longer human, but predator.

"Alec?" Max murmured as a growl ripped through his lips. "Alec?"

Rosie crouched down next to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He immediately relaxed, leaning into her, before slumping down completely to the floor. He shook his head drunkenly. "What the hell just happened?" he breathed, eyes wide in confusion.

"That's what we'd all like to know." Logan answered, his arms folded over his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Alec sighed and glanced down the bar to where Rosie, Liz, and Cara were ordering drinks. It amazed him that in a matter of months, the newest additions to Terminal City had managed to integrate themselves so fully into their lives. They ran supply runs and patrols, helped with planning and rationing, and training the younger transgenics.

He couldn't explain it, but of all of them, Rosie was his favorite. He felt… _pulled_ to her, as though connected to her my some invisible string. He smiled, finished his Scotch, and headed down the bar as Cara and Liz began a rousing game of pool.

"Maybe you shouldn't be drinking." Alec murmured. "You've got a supply run tomorrow."

Rosie spun on her barstool, a coy smile playing on her lips. "You either. You're assigned to that run too, you know."

Alec licked his lips and leaned down to whisper in her ear. _God! She smells amazing!_ He thought as her hair tickled his cheek. "But I know how to hold my liquor."

"Ha, yes, that's it, Alec. It has nothing to do with your perfect genome." She scoffed, turning her head a fraction so that her lips brushed lightly against his ear.

He swallowed a moan as his eyes traveled down the length of her neck to her shoulder, and finally down to where her low-cut top exposed the top of her perfect breasts. He breathed her in again before sighing and leaning against the bar. "Everything going OK for you guys? Everyone treating you right?" his mouth was dry as he attempted to regain his faculties.

Rosie nodded mutely as she sipped her beer. "As well as can be expected." Her eyes darkened. "Caleb's still missing."

"He'll turn up."

She shook her head. "No, I don't think so." I sighed. "He really doesn't like you."

"What'd I do? Except for pulling him off you that one time."

"You did more than that." She smirked. "X-Sixes in our unit have a… problem. We're territorial." She took another sip of her drink. "We were… more like a pack, not so much like a family."

"So you're telling me I laid hands on his mate and now I'm a target."

Rosie sucked the beer down her windpipe and coughed. Alec clapped her roughly on the back and she sputtered once. "_No_." she rasped vehemently. She breathed deeply. "Manticore made a mistake with us… or at least allowing us to be in the same unit." Alec cocked an eyebrow. "Caleb and I are both… in terms of pack hierarchy… Alphas." She took another gulp of beer. "We never got along… too busy fighting."

"So why'd you stick together?"

She shrugged. "Family." She drained her beer and hopped down off the barstool. She threw some bills down on the bar and smiled at him. "I'll see you in the morning."

"You're leaving already?"

Rosie crossed her eyes, mocking him and he smiled. "Can't please you, can I?" she asked. "First you tell me I shouldn't be drinking, now you don't want me to go?"

Alec shrugged nonchalantly. "I could use the company." He frowned as Rosie's eyes veered from his face and he followed her gaze. "Oh my God." He murmured.

Lydecker was walking down the stairs of Crash, his eyes darting back and forth as he took in all of his "kids". He spotted Rosie and made his way to her, a warm smile playing on his lips. "Rosie." He grunted, then his eyes fell on Alec and widened. "X-Five, Four-Nine-Four." He breathed.

"Alec." Alec corrected.

"Alec." Lydecker repeated.

"What are you doing here, Sir?" Rosie asked rigidly.

"Here to see Max."

"She's not here." Alec answered, glancing down at Rosie protectively. "We'll send her out for you… she can make the call whether or not to bring you in."

"Bring me in?"

Alec nodded. "She may not want you to know where we are." Lydecker nodded and Alec wrapped his arm around Rosie and guided her to the door. "Lydecker is _not_ Max's favorite person." He murmured as they reached the door.

"Nor mine." She replied. "But I can't ignore the fact that Caleb and I needed somewhere to go… somewhere safe… and he sent us straight to Max."

"Forgive me if I find that hardly redeeming." He murmured. "Let's get you back to Terminal City."

Rosie stopped dead and glanced up at him. "Alec, I'm faster than you." He nodded. "I'm stronger than you." He nodded again. "Go get Max. I can take care of myself." Alec hesitated and she smiled. "I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

*~*~*

Later that night, Alec sat on the roof of his apartment building, his feet dangling over the edge, hovering just above Rosie's bedroom window. He didn't know what had led him to that place, didn't understand why he felt the need to be near her, watch over her, protect her. He swallowed and watched the streets of TC carefully. It was almost animalistic, this pull toward Rosie… almost as though he were protecting what was his.

"But she's not mine." He whispered, his brow furrowing. "She's not mine."

Her words from earlier that night echoed in his head. "_The X-Sixes in our unit have a… problem. We're territorial."_

Alec licked his lips. Maybe it wasn't just those X-Sixes. Maybe it was all of the X-Series, and the Sixes had enough feline DNA in them to exhibit the signs overtly. He sighed and closed his eyes as the memory of Rosie's scent came unbidden into his head. She smelled of clover and, ironically, roses… light and sweet, and an underlying tone he couldn't place… musky, more… feral. No one's scent had ever hit him the way hers did.

He blinked furiously and pushed her scent out of his head, but as he did, more visual memories entered… the curve of her rear in the faded blue jeans she favored, and the swell of her breasts beneath the black tank top. He pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth, his lips parting slightly as he wondered what she would taste like, and suddenly he was imagining her beneath him, her legs wrapped tightly around his hips as he marked her as his own.

He shook himself out of it and stood up. "No." he commanded himself. "You're a human. Not some tiger." _But she smells so good. She's intoxicating._ "She's in my command." _You want her _under _your command._ He shook his head again and headed back into the building, his feet heavy, and his head swimming in her scent.

He detoured to the ninth floor and crept to her doorway. He could hear her light breathing and a tiny sigh and the ruffling of sheets as she rolled over. That minute movement pushed her scent around and his nostrils flared as her fragrance wafted under the door.

_She'd mark you as hers, you know. She'd take you into her every night, cry out as you fucked her. You know that's what you want. You want to fuck her, bite her shoulder and make her yours… make sure no one else will ever touch her._

"I'm not her Alpha." He murmured. He cursed silently as he felt the all-too-familiar pressure in his groin and blurred back to the stairs, skimming down to the sixth floor and barricading himself in his own apartment.

Even as he stripped down, he knew it wasn't what he wanted. He sighed and grasped his rigid dick firmly as he laid down on his bed. He moaned softly as he found his rhythm and closed his eyes, imagining Rosie's lips wrapped around him, imagined her tongue gliding over his ridge.

His eyes rolled back into his head as he climaxed, imagining now that Rosie was taking all of him in, swallowing him, and he moaned again. He licked his lips and sighed. _Not as good as it could be._

_That's not going to happen._ He rolled his eyes. _Great, I'm arguing with myself._

_Your instincts are all telling you to fuck her, Alec. Why won't you listen?_

_Because this isn't instinct. It's my brain reminding me I haven't been laid in months._

_Or… it's your instincts. If this were about getting laid, you'd have done it already… when have you ever been shy?_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Hey, you OK?" Max asked, eyeing Alec warily.

"I'm always OK." He answered automatically.

"Remember, we need more first aid kits." She reminded him. "And Sea Rations."

Alec rolled his eyes and leaned against the chain link fence that separated Terminal City from the rest of Seattle. "I know, Max."

"I know you know. I'm just reminding you." She quirked an eyebrow at him. "You sure you're OK?"

"Just tired." His eyes darted to the dirt track leading to the front gate and he sniffed lightly. "She's almost here." He murmured.

"What?" Max asked, but she turned as she sensed Rosie closing in on them, a blur of red hair and black leather. She smiled as the younger woman came to a stop in front of them. "You ready?" Rosie nodded slowly as a bead of sweat rolled down her neck. "You OK?" her brow furrowed.

"I just feel a little funny." She waved her hand airily. "Probably just tired." She smiled at Alec.

"Alright." Max shrugged. "Oh, and Lydecker's requesting lab supplies."

"Lab supplies?" Alec asked.

"Yeah, you know… Petri dishes, a microscope, et cetera… and syringes."

Rosie raised an eyebrow. "Who's he planning on injecting?"

"Me… if he can manage to develop a cure to what ails me."

Rosie nodded, but didn't ask for elaboration. She sighed and glanced at Alec. "You ready? We should get moving."

*~*~*

"You sure you're OK?" Alec asked, watching her carefully as Rosie heaved a large crate into the back of the box truck Sketchy had managed to steal for them.

"Fine." She puffed. "Dizzy, maybe, but fine."

Alec cocked an eyebrow and placed his hand against her forehead. "Rosie, you're burning up." He murmured.

"It's nothing."

"It's not nothing." He argued as he loaded the last crate and pulled the back door down.

Rosie smacked his hand away roughly, glaring. "I'm _fine_." She growled, but then her eyes softened and she sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me." She yanked the passenger door open. "Let's just get going." She slid into the truck and Alec shrugged and climbed into the driver's seat.

It took them two hours to get through Sector Police, but they finally pulled through the gate into TC. Sketchy met them there and took over for Alec as Original Cindy took Rosie's place.

"You OK, Boo?" she asked, eyeing Rosie carefully.

"Yeah." Rosie's voice was barely higher than a breath, and her face was flushed.

OC shot Alec a look. "Alec, you may want to get her to Sick Bay. She don't look too good." She pulled the passenger door closed and Sketchy began steering the truck deeper into the city.

"You sure you're OK?" he called, watching as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Yeah." She gave him a reassuring smile, but it faded quickly. "Alec—" and she passed out.

Alec blurred to her side and caught her just before she hit the ground. "Rosie? Rosie, wake up, Honey." She sagged over his arm and he scooped her up and blurred toward Command. "Need a Medic in here!" he yelled as he backed through the door. "Now, dammit!"

Max, Logan, and Mole appeared from her office as Biggs rushed in from the back room. Lydecker was the last to appear, his eyes narrowing at Alec as the X-Five cradled Rosie.

"What happened?" Lydecker asked.

"She fainted. She's sick." Alec replied as Mole swept several maps and papers off the table so that Alec could lay her down. "She's been off all day. She's got a fever."

Lydecker moved closer and examined Rosie carefully. "Is that all, X-Five, Four-Nine-Four?" he glanced up wearily. Alec raised a questioning eyebrow at the older man. "Just a fever?"

Alec's eyes widened, he thought he'd imagined the pheromones in the air. Rosie wasn't acting the way Max or Syl or any of the other female transgenics did when they were in heat. Rosie stirred and groaned, though she didn't wake up, but the sudden movement sent Alec's head spinning as the pheromones swirled around him. "Heat." He murmured, his eyes fixed on her face. "She's in her heat cycle."

Max's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "There weren't any warning signs." She murmured. "She would have known."

"No, she wouldn't." Lydecker replied, pulling the lid of Rosie's right eye up to examine her pupils. He sighed and closed his eyes. "X-Six, Four hundred is one of thirteen females enhanced with reptile DNA. Pit viper and King Cobra, more specifically." He checked her other eye. "While at Manticore, their heat cycles were controlled with extensive drug therapy."

"She's been out for three years." Logan argued.

"Yes, _but_ she's spent a great deal of time in colder climes. Chicago, the Yukon."

"A reptile's metabolism slows down when it gets too cold." Max murmured.

"When we realized the X-Sixes would slow down and slip into hibernation when it got too cold, we implemented gene therapy to reel that in." he sighed. "But apparently, we didn't reel it in enough. Enough to keep them from hibernating, but not enough to level her out. It appears that it slowed down her sexual development, being in cold weather for so long… now it's summer, it's warmer here… and she's gone into heat."

"Why's it so intense?" Logan asked.

"Reptiles and felines couldn't be more different, but their reproductive instincts and needs are alike. Reptiles have a more intense cycle, lasting about three weeks."

"_Three weeks_?" Max cried.

Alec kneeled down and touched Rosie's cheek gently. He smiled as she immediately leaned into his touch. "How bad?" he asked, his voice suddenly hoarse.

"Nothing she can't get through… but it'll get worse before it gets better." Lydecker sighed, but his eyes narrowed again. "How long, Four-Nine-Four?"

"How long what?" Alec's brow furrowed and he spared Lydecker the briefest of glances.

"How long have you been experiencing heightened senses, different instincts?"

Alec's eyes widened, but he didn't move them from Rosie's face. "Not long." He lied, his throat suddenly dry. He could feel Lydecker staring at him intensely and he sighed. "It happened a few months ago… when she first arrived." He sucked his teeth in thought. "The senses just got stronger, but I haven't attacked anyone since then." He gently trailed his thumb along her cheekbone.

"What's this about, Deck?" Logan murmured.

Lydecker's eyes were narrowed to slits. "It's in all of the X-Series. The most base of instincts." He didn't elaborate further, totally fascinated by Alec.

"What is?"

Max sighed. "The instinct to survive… and survival of the species."

"I'd like to run some tests." Lydecker murmured.

In a flash, before any of them could digest that comment, Alec had grabbed Lydecker and thrown him wholly across the Command Center. As he crashed into the opposite wall, Alec crouched down, ready to spring, his eyes focused on Lydecker. A feral growl ripped through his lips and he bared his teeth.

"Alec!" Max yelled in surprise, taking a step forward. She stopped as Alec turned his eyes to her and his lip curled in a snarl.

"Don't!" Lydecker yelled, his eyes wide in fascination. "Don't. He senses a threat. He's protecting his female."

"She's not his female!" Max yelled.

"Maybe not." Lydecker agreed. "But the feline DNA is telling him otherwise." His eyes flitted to Rosie as she twitched and then her hand came to rest on Alec's head.

"Alec," she whispered and Alec immediately relaxed. "Alec, stop." She groaned.

He sprung to his feet and bent over her, stroking her cheek gently, lowering his face to nuzzle her neck. "What are you doing to me?" he murmured, inhaling her scent and sending his head spinning again as the pheromones entered his system.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, eyes closed as the tip of his nose grazed the hollow of her neck.

He shook his head. "Nothing." He turned his head ever-so-slightly to glare at Lydecker. "No tests."

"Four-Nine-Four, I need to—"

"Alec!" he growled. "No tests." He relaxed again as he laid his head over Rosie's heart.

"Alec, he can help her if he runs those tests." Logan pleaded.

Lydecker took a cautious step forward. "Easy, Son." He murmured, his hands up in surrender. "I won't hurt her." Alec gave a low growl in response. "I won't hurt her… she can't function right now. She's helpless. Do you want her helpless?" Alec's eyes widened and he shook his head. "I just need to get some blood. Just a little bit." He took another cautious step toward them. "Just a little bit, then you can take care of her. I promise." Alec considered him for a moment, eyes narrowed to slits, before he finally conceded defeat and stepped back.

Lydecker produced several test tubes and a butterfly needle, but continued to take slow, calculated steps toward Alec.

Max followed, not as slowly, but just as carefully, until she was standing beside Alec. "I'll get Syl and Liz to watch over her." She murmured to him. Alec shook his head furiously. "Alec, I can't leave you alone with her."

Alec's expression was pained as he gently stroked Rosie's hair. "I can't not be with her." He replied.

"Alec, you could _hurt_ her. She can't protect herself and you're alternating between tiger and man and there's too much emphasis on the tiger right now."

Lydecker sighed and watched the first vial fill with blood. "Actually, it's lion." He muttered, shooting her a look. "And honestly, she's probably the _only_ one who's safe with him." He finished drawing blood and quickly bandaged the hole left by the needle.

"She's in heat, Deck. She'll jump anything that moves." Max replied.

"It's not about that." Alec defended, hurt. "It's not about that at all." Rosie smiled up at him, eyes heavy, and wiggled her fingers. Alec smiled down at her and laced his fingers with hers. "She needs me." He murmured, turning back to Max, his eyes pleading.

"Deck, what's going on?" she asked.

"They're bonding." He smiled at Rosie. "It's not just Alec, Four-Five-Two. It's her too, they're pulling together. There's them, and us. No in-between now."

She grabbed Lydecker by the arm and steered him out of earshot. "What happens if I separate them?"

Lydecker sighed. "Alec's instinct right now is to protect his female. She's weak and she's in heat." He shrugged. "Even if that isn't what matters to him now, she's still weak, and the lion in him won't risk another male taking what's his."

"I offered _females_."

"Right now, all he can see is every possible threat to his potential mate. He won't trust anyone else to protect her, and he poses a threat if you try."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"OK, Rosie, I've got you." Alec murmured, hitching her higher and supporting her with only his right arm as he pushed the door to her apartment open with his left hand. "You're OK." He whispered and she groaned, her head lolling onto his shoulder. "I know, Baby. I know."

"Too hot." She whispered and Alec realized she was soaked through with sweat.

"I know. It's OK."

He was about to close the front door when Max's hand caught it and pushed it open again. She handed him a black duffel bag, her eyebrows knit together in worry. "Alec, be careful." She murmured.

He smiled. "She's not dangerous, Max." he chided.

"But you are." She nodded at the bag. "I had Biggs grab some clothes from your apartment. Lydecker says she needs to be watched over at least until the worst of it passes." He nodded. "Be careful." She warned again and closed the door behind her.

Alec sighed and immediately dropped the bag. He turned and locked the door then moved to the bed. "We have to get you cooled down." He murmured. "Can you sit, Rosie?" she groaned again. "We'll try it."

He set her on the bed and easily supported her back with his left arm while he yanked her black tank top over her head to expose her black sports bra and the smooth, soft flesh of her chest and stomach. He bit his lip, but ignored his instincts and let out a hard breath. He grabbed the button of her jeans and yanked it open as she sank backward and he pulled her boots, socks, and pants off to reveal her black cotton panties. He stripped down to his boxers, lifted her off the bed, and carried her into the bathroom.

"Feels like my skin's on fire." She whispered into his neck.

"I know." He replied softly as he got another heavy dose of her scent. "I know. It's OK." He flipped the shower on as cold as it would go and stepped under the streaming water, carefully sitting down in the tub and laying her against his chest.

"Mmmm…" she moaned, smiling. She arched her back a little as the cool water pelted her enflamed skin.

Rosie curled into his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist, nuzzling his chest unconsciously and craning her neck toward the water.

_Head in the game, Soldier_. He mentally commanded himself. Alec huffed a little as he felt himself stiffen and he pushed Rosie's hair off her shoulders and neck. He stared down at her face, smiling as her lips parted slightly and brushed lightly against his collarbone, not quite a kiss, more of a pass, and he felt his pulse quicken. She moaned softly as he ran his fingers through her hair and hugged him tighter, digging her fingernails into the skin of his back.

"OK?" he rasped, his eyelids fluttering as he fought to control his impulses.

She nodded and pressed closer. "You're cold." She murmured into his neck.

"No, I'm not." He smiled.

"You are to me." Rosie sighed, her eyes finally fluttering open. "You feel cold."

"You're burning up." Alec murmured, stroking her cheek with his fingertip. "You really had me scared when you fainted."

"I'm starting to feel a bit better." She sighed and amended, "_Cooler_."

Alec nodded and planted a tender kiss on her forehead. "Did you hear what Lydecker was saying?"

"I was in and out… I remember you tossing him across the room… hearing you growl a lot…" she sighed again and shifted her position so that her back was against his chest, allowing the water to flow over her chest and face. "Couldn't really track anything but you." She leaned her head back on his shoulder and smiled and his hand found the flat of her stomach and his thumb began tracing small circles. "What'd he say?"

_She doesn't need to know right now._

_Why not? She should know what's happening to her._

_She might not take too kindly to being told animal instinct is stripping her of her free will._

Alec sighed and kissed her forehead again. "It's not important… it can wait."

Rosie nodded and reached her hand out for the bar of soap resting on the side of the tub. "I feel grimy." She groaned and used the side of the tub to leverage herself up into a sitting position. She began lathering the soap and cleaning the sweat off.

Alec frowned as the clean, slightly woodsy scent of the soap overtook her natural fragrance, but he took the soap from her and washed her back, kneading the stiff muscles of her shoulders, and smiling as her head sagged and she moaned appreciatively. He rinsed her back off and handed her the soap again.

Rosie smiled and lathered her legs and feet, but bit her lip nervously as Alec leaned forward and massaged her thighs and calves, his fingers lingering at the inner thigh for a fraction too long to be simply helpful. She heard his breathing become faster and felt her own pulse quicken as his thumbs trailed a little too close to the thin swath of cloth covering her sex, but she smiled as his lips pressed firmly against the back of her shoulder.

"Can you stand on your own, do you think? If you can, you can finish cleaning up." She nodded and he helped her to stand. "Call me if you need me."

He stepped out of the shower, grabbed a large fluffy white towel, and headed back out to the living room where his duffel bag still sat in the middle of the floor. He went digging and pulled out a fresh pair of jeans and a blue T-shirt and stepped into the bedroom to change.

The water creaked off and Alec found his way back out to the living room and sat down on the couch. He heard the bathroom door open and heard soft footsteps into the bedroom and drawers opening and closing and the soft rustling of fabric.

He smiled to himself and padded into the bedroom to find Rosie curled up on the bed, clad only in a red tank top and matching panties. She smiled at him sleepily, her skin still glistening with water and her fingers lifted a tiny bit and patted the bed. He laid down next to her and laced his fingers through hers, bringing them to his lips for a quick kiss on her knuckles. Her skin was still too warm, too flushed. Lydecker had said that it would only get worse before it got better. The question was: How much worse?

"Why are you taking care of me?" she murmured, closing her eyes. "You don't have to."

"Yes, I do." He stated firmly, causing her to open her eyes and stare at him again.

Rosie's brow furrowed as she processed his attitude. "What did Lydecker say?"

"It doesn't matter." He kissed her knuckles again and she smiled, her lips parting slightly.

She inhaled deeply and opened her eyes again. "You smell so good." She murmured.

_Uh oh… here comes the real heat cycle._

Alec planted another kiss on the back of her hand and she moaned softly, stretching her fingertips out to caress his cheek. The lion in him purred at her touch, demanding more, and he pressed his forehead to hers and kissed her brow while his hands found her hips and twitched her closer.

He inhaled her scent and frowned. "You smell wrong." He murmured and he smiled a little at her questioning look. "I don't like that soap… I like the way _you_ smell." His fingers pressed into the flesh at the back of her thigh and hitched her left leg up over his hip. Another wave of hormones hit him and he smiled wider. "Intoxicating." He murmured, tilting his face down until their lips were only centimeters apart.

Rosie moaned as the hand on her thigh slid slowly up to her rear and then the fingertips traced down again to her knee. "Alec…" she whispered and he groaned and pressed his lips to hers, pulling her closer. Her fingers were tangling in his hair, tugging gently, and she was kissing him back, her body responding, molding with his.

_Not now! She'll hate you for this!_

_We both want it!_

_She'd jump Joshua right now if he were the only one available! Let her make her own choice. What Lydecker said was sick!_

Alec gave a low growl, rolled his eyes, and pulled away. "No, Rosie." He whispered, placing a tender kiss on her forehead. "Not now. Not now." She groaned and he kissed her lips softly. "You're not in your right mind." He smiled as she craned her neck and pulled him into another kiss. "I want this so much." He whispered huskily. "But I want you to want it too… when it's not just in your heat cycle." His tongue darted out quickly and laved over her lower lip, making her moan again. "Not now." He sighed and pulled out of her arms and moved to the easy chair in the corner.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Days passed in agony as Alec maintained his position in the easy chair, gripping the arms for support. He put her in the shower as needed, helped her back to bed, but couldn't bring himself to lay with her again, couldn't bring himself to start what every fiber of his being told him to finish. He sighed and crossed his arms as Rosie twitched involuntarily and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

She was getting worse. The sweats were worse, soaking her clothes in less than an hour now. The burning was worse, so much so that her skin had taken on a seemingly permanent pink tone. The urges were worse, every time he touched her even the tiniest bit, she moaned and arched her back as though they were making love.

The pheromones swirling around the room were driving him insane, circulating, pungent and heavy, wearing away at his resolve every time she moved and wafted the scent around the room. He'd been hard for hours at a time, wishing he didn't care so much that she was in heat. Wishing she'd overpower him, take away his choice so he could make her feel better.

She moaned softly and twitched again and Alec steeled himself for another assault on his senses. He licked his lips and closed his eyes. _Suck it up, Soldier_.

"Alec?" she murmured and his eyes snapped open to find her staring at him. She bit her lip and pushed herself shakily to her elbows. "Alec?"

_Don't do it._

He didn't listen to the inner voice now. Look where it had gotten him. He stood and crossed to the bed as she reached for him. Her scent was even stronger here, it was all over the bed, it was making him lose focus, and he found himself sinking down beside her. He took her hand in his and lifted it to his mouth, placing an open-mouthed kiss on her knuckles so that he could taste a tiny bit of her.

She moaned and her back arched again and Alec closed his eyes and tried to block it out. "I'm here, Rosie." He murmured into her hand. "I'm here."

"Alec…" it was so soft, only a transgenic could have heard her. "Make it stop."

He pressed her palm to his cheek and kissed the heel of her hand. "I can't, Baby. I can't make it stop."

She bit her lip to stifle her next moan and her hand cupped his face. "You can." She begged.

"Rosie," he breathed, and suddenly she'd grabbed his wrist and yanked him closer. "Rosie, I can't… I can't do this to you." He whispered. "I—"

But she cut him off, pressing her lips lightly to his and Alec felt the last of his resolve melt away as his body reacted instinctively. "I want you to." She whispered into his lips.

Alec wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against his chest as his mouth found her neck. She gasped as he trailed kisses over her collarbone and over to her shoulder and she cried out, a mixture of pleasure and pain, as he sunk his teeth into her shoulder, deep enough to draw blood, deep enough to mark her as his. He stroked his tongue over the wound and his hands found the hem of her tank top and yanked it up and off, exposing her full breasts, rising and falling with her ragged breaths.

He nuzzled her neck gently, smiling as he admired the teeth marks in her shoulder, and then sat up on his knees and removed his T-shirt. He leaned over her and nipped her lips as his right arm snaked around her waist and lifted her a fraction of an inch off the bed. Her hands found his hair and tugged gently as his left thumb hooked the hip of her panties and peeled them off, smiling to himself as the scent of her arousal washed over him.

Rosie arched her back again as Alec kissed his mark and she sunk her teeth into his shoulder, causing him to groan into her neck. She grinned and bit her lip, closing her eyes as he trailed kisses down to her breasts, then down further to her stomach, before he grabbed her knees and forced her legs apart. He kissed her thighs and nibbled the sensitive skin near the juncture, and smiled to himself as he slid his tongue inside her and she gasped. She tasted amazing, milk and honey, and he slid a finger in as well so that he could nibble her clit.

"Alec…" she gasped, tugging on his hair.

He smiled and trailed kisses back up her body, stopping to briefly suck her nipples into perfect peaks, and then up to her mouth with a searing kiss while his finger moved in and out and his thumb had taken his tongue's place on her clit.

Rosie raked her nails over his scalp and down to his shoulder blades, digging them in as she cried out and he rocked her gently, kissed her tenderly as her orgasm drenched his hand.

"Mine." He whispered huskily, slipping another finger inside her. She nodded, but Alec shook his head. "Say it Rosie." He nipped her lower lip again and then kissed her deeply. "Say you're mine, Rosie."

"I'm yours." She gasped as another orgasm ripped through her.

Smiling, Alec removed his fingers from her, licking them slowly, his eyes closed, savoring the flavor of her. He moaned softly and fumbled with his button and zipper, frustratingly slow, but he freed himself of the offending jeans and boxers and hitched her legs further apart.

He positioned himself at her opening and pressed, not enough to enter her, but enough to make her moan. He smiled again and leaned forward onto his hands, pressing again, just a little bit more, enjoying the sound of her pleasure mixed with impatience. "Say it again." He whispered, kissing his mark. "Tell me again."

"I'm yours." She whispered. "I'm Alec's."

His smile broadened and he kissed her tenderly. "And I'm Rosie's." he murmured into her lips as he thrust into her.

*~*~*

He watched her sleep that night, still fevered, but no longer restless… sated… for now and he smiled as he watched the wound on her shoulder scab over and slowly heal. In a few days, perfect white scars would be distinct against her alabaster skin.

Dawn broke and her eyes fluttered open, heavy with sleep, but aware and she smiled as he kissed her, tender at first, then bruising. He wanted to mark as much of her as possible, wanted his scent on her no matter how hard she scrubbed with that damned soap, and she squeezed his bicep, pulled him closer.

"Alec!" _Dammit, Max_. "Alec, it's me! Lydecker's got something!"

He growled, eyes rolling, and pulled out of her embrace and hit the floor. Rosie smiled as he tossed her a tank top and pajama pants from her drawer and then pulled his jeans on, grabbed a button-down from his duffel, and kicked the rest of their clothes under the bed.

"Alec!" Max pounded harder and the door handle wiggled.

He buttoned the shirt most of the way and headed for the door. "Give me a minute. I just woke up!" he yelled, fiddling with the locks. "What's up?" he asked as he opened the door and was met with a wide-eyed Max.

Lydecker was carrying a medical bag and a clipboard. "I think we can get her over the worst of it… shorten it down to a normal heat." He sighed. His eyes were heavily-lidded, sleep-deprived.

Alec nodded and opened the door wider to allow them in. He led the way into the bedroom where Rosie was sitting, covered in the blanket even though she was obviously soaked in sweat from the fever again. He sat at the foot of the bed as Lydecker sat next to her and pulled out a stethoscope.

He checked her lungs, listened to her heartbeat carefully. "Strong heart there, Four hundred." He sighed. "How's the fever?" he slipped a digital thermometer under her tongue and grimaced at the readout. "One twenty-five." He murmured. He reached into the bag again and pulled out a syringe.

Alec growled menacingly, but Max lunged forward, grabbing his shoulders to restrain him.

"This isn't going to hurt her, Son." He murmured. "You have my word. It'll just make this heat more bearable for her." He sighed. "It'll pass in another day or two." He was speaking directly to Rosie now. "And then the next time you feel it coming on, you'll know what's happening and we'll give you another dose." She nodded, but Alec growled again, this time a warning.

"Alec," Max warned, but then she grabbed his elbow and pulled him to his feet. "Come on. Come on, I need to talk to you." She tugged him out the door and out into the hallway. "Alec," Max sighed. "I realize that whatever is going on here is a bit beyond your control, but you _need_ to rein it in. It just won't—" she stopped suddenly and Alec watched her pupils expand and contract, zeroing in on something at shoulder height. She reached up and pushed the collar of his shirt away, exposing the brand on his shoulder, healing nicely. "Oh, God, _Alec_!" she groaned. "You just couldn't—"

"Stop it, Maxie!" he cut in. "It wasn't like that. It's not what you think!"

"Not what I think? Not what I think!" she threw her hands up in exasperation. "She's not in control of her actions and wants right now and you—"

"She needed me to make it stop." He murmured and Max paused, catching a look of sadness in his eyes. "I couldn't take it anymore, Maxie. She was shaking and burning and she needed me."

"She's in _heat_, Alec. She's horny."

"She was in agony."

Max rolled her eyes. "I assure you, it's not _that_ bad."

A muscle in Alec's jaw twitched and he gritted his teeth. "For _you_. But you forget that she's not _you_."

Max sighed. "Alec," she murmured, placating now. "Alec, do you understand what you two have done?"

"Copulated, Four-Five-Two." He gave her his classic smirk and she returned it with a glare.

"You _mated_." She sighed. "Lydecker was telling us about it… you marked her too, didn't you?" Alec trained his eyes on a stain on the carpet behind her. "You mated and you marked each other… you took that choice away from her, Alec. There's no going back. Any transgenic who even _thinks_ they _might_ want to try with her will be immediately deterred. She's your property now, and you're hers and there's no going back. You took that choice away from her."

Alec's jaw popped loudly as he ground his teeth together. Instead of answering, he turned on his heel and headed back toward the bedroom. His temper flared as he saw Lydecker examining his mark on her shoulder carefully, a look of awe evident in his eyes.

Rosie's face was frozen in an expression of horror as he murmured softly to her and she stared at the fresh bandage in the crook of her right elbow. Her head snapped up as Alec entered the room and her eyes narrowed in an accusing glare.

"You _knew_?" she hissed and Alec could smell the venom secreting from her gums.

"Rosie, Sweetie, stay calm, please." Lydecker murmured, listening to her heart rate again. "You can fight later." He placed the thermometer under her tongue again and smiled as he read the results. "One ten and going down. You may get through this faster than I thought."

"And then next time it happens, we can cut it off before it gets too bad?"

"Absolutely." Lydecker groaned and stood. "We'll leave you two alone." He nodded at Max and they left.

Rosie glanced down at her shoulder, lightly tracing her fingers over the teeth marks, her jaw tensed. "You knew." She hissed again.

"Rosie," Alec breathed. "I didn't know about the… _mating_ thing, I swear I didn't." she blurred so fast he couldn't track her and then she was backing him against the wall, so small and fragile looking, but imperious and threatening in her rage. "I didn't know, I swear." He murmured. "I didn't know… if I did, I never would have, I swear."

"Get out." His eyes widened, her voice was so deadly calm. "Get out!" she yelled.

Alec blinked back tears, grabbed his bag, and headed for the door. The last thing he heard before tearing off to his own apartment was an anguished sob.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Max sighed and glanced at Logan, who stared curiously across the table at Alec. Mess was always the worst time of day. Oatmeal and Sea Rations weren't _exactly_ five star cuisine, but Alec never passed up a meal. Today, he sat and stared at the mush in front of him, his spoon laying forgotten on his tray.

"Alec," Max started.

"Don't say it, Maxie." He whispered.

Max pressed her lips together and quickly scanned the hall. Rosie was nowhere to be found. She never was these days. She'd volunteered for extra patrols, extra supply runs, _anything_ that would keep her out of Terminal City. She was going to kill herself at the rate she was going, Max was sure. Afterall, snake, not shark. The girl needed sleep.

Logan swallowed and carefully leaned forward. "Maybe you should—"

"Shut-up." Alec moaned and his head hit the table.

"Four-Nine-Four," Lydecker sighed as he passed behind Max. "Is that really necessary?" he frowned as Alec failed to answer, even to correct his use of the Manticore designation.

"Why don't you back off, Deck?" Logan replied, his eyes narrowing. "He's upset."

"He wasn't _made_ to be upset."

"Oh look, another mistake made by our friends at Manticore!" Max smirked.

Alec rolled his head to the side and sat up. "Shut-up." He groaned again. "_All_ of you." He grabbed his tray, stood, and headed for the door, pausing only to throw his untouched meal in the garbage.

As soon as he left through the front door, Rosie appeared through the back, blurring down the empty line, and straight over to an empty table. Logan sighed and leaned back in his chair as Lydecker took Alec's empty spot.

"She'll get over it." Lydecker said around a mouthful of mush. "She'll come to understand that it's all instinct and she'll get over it."

Max's brow furrowed. "That's all they are to you. Another science experiment."

He shook his head. "No, they're my kids. I care… but I won't pretend that it wasn't a happy surprise that the mating instinct came through. We chose a _very specific_ type of lion for the X-Series. The only of its kind that will spend their life with one mate." He sighed and took another bite. "I can't pretend that's a bad thing, Max."

Logan cocked an eyebrow at him. "And you're hoping that if Alec and Rosie are demonstrating those instincts, the others will too." Lydecker smiled, but made no reply. "That's… sick."

"Don't worry, Cale. Four-Five-Two has chosen her mate." He smirked into his oatmeal as Max scowled at him.

She watched as Rosie finished her dinner and dumped her tray, heading for the front door. "Rosie!" she called, waving the X-Six over, and she smiled when Rosie came to stand at Lydecker's shoulder. "You missed the meeting this morning."

"Patrolling."

Max nodded. "We implemented martial law." She shifted uncomfortably.

Rosie nodded and turned to leave. "Got it, Top."

"Hold on there, Rosie." Lydecker called and her shoulders cringed at the sound of his voice. "I'll walk with you." He stood and followed Rosie out the front door. They walked in silence for several minutes, Lydecker keeping his eyes trained on the barcode tattoo, just visible as her ponytail swished with her walk. "Your mate appears upset."

Rosie gritted her teeth, turned, and pinned Lydecker to the nearest wall by his throat. "He's _not_ my _mate_." She growled. "I should kill you, you know."

"But you won't…" Lydecker gasped. "Because you need someone who understands what's going on." He smiled through his strangling. "It's instinct, Rosie. Pure instinct, don't fight it."

"It's Darwinism!" she growled, slamming his head against the bricks. "The strong mate with the strong to breed the strong! That's the _animal_! I'm _human_!"

"My kids have never been _merely_ human, Rosie."

She dropped him, disgusted, and joined him on the ground, leaning against the wall. "You took so much from us… from me." She sighed. "Childhood, and broken bones… and chaining us to the bottom of a water tank." She shook her head. "I really should kill you for all that."

"I made you stronger."

"You made me a killer." She spat and Lydecker saw the venom congealing in her saliva. "And when _you_ made a mistake, it was us who paid the price… _Anomalies_." Her eyes narrowed at him. "Not killing me was the biggest mistake you ever made."

"Not like we didn't try." He raised his hand to his neck and rubbed the red, soon to be purple bruise forming there.

She smirked. "Yeah, I remember." She cocked her head to the side. "You honestly didn't think Caleb and I would figure it out?" he shook his head. "The mistake you made was putting us in the same unit. You could've stopped the fighting at any time by moving one of us to another unit, but _you_, you sent us out on a bogus mission, figuring that if we didn't kill each other, the handlers could kill us when we completed it." she spit more venom into the dirt. "You took so much away from me… so I ran away and tried to get it all back..." she laughed bitterly and wiped a tear away. "And come to find out you're still taking things away from me."

Lydecker nodded. "This… was never my intention."

"Don't even feed me that line, Deck." She sighed. "You may not have intended it in the beginning, but I see that grin on your face whenever you look at me or Alec."

"You need him… and he needs you."

"That's the animal. I'm human." She reminded him.

"That is the human, Four hundred." She glared at him. "Argue semantics and Darwinism and science with me all day long, I'm game… but part of you… the _human_ part of you… is happy that it's Alec… and is pining for him, just like he's pining for you. Both parts of you are pining for him."

"Shut-up." She rolled her eyes and stood. "You don't own me anymore." She spit more venom and headed off toward the fence line.

*~*~*

Max sighed and took another shot, her eyes narrowing as the six ball bounced around the pool table but failed to enter a pocket.

"Boo," Original Cindy groaned, shaking her head. "What is up with you tonight?" Max glanced over her shoulder to where Alec sat at their table, staring into his whiskey. OC shook her head sadly and prepared her shot. "Spun, completely." She cocked an eyebrow as a blond X-Five sat down across from Alec, gently touched his arm. "Maybe…" she trailed off as a faint snarling mixed with a hiss reached her ears and she turned to stare at Rosie, sitting at the bar, her back to them. "Was that her?"

Max nodded, watching the blond, who'd paused as she heard the warning. Alec murmured for her to leave him alone, but she touched his arm again and Alec recoiled. He tugged the collar of his shirt and exposed his brand, effectively scaring the girl off.

She sighed. "I don't know what to say to him anymore."

"Well, the girl obviously cares… she _growled_."

"I think that was more instinct than actually wanting to." She handed OC her pool cue and went to join Alec. "You OK?" he shrugged. "She growled at Davey, that says something."

Alec smirked. "Nice try… but I know from experience that it probably isn't something she can control." He swirled his whiskey around and knocked it back. "Has she… said anything to you?" he glanced at Max quickly, but went right back to his glass.

"No."

OC leaned over Max's shoulder. "I think we should get Sketchy out of here." She murmured. "Fool's drunk off his ass."

Alec's head shot up as a new scent mingled with Rosie's, too close for comfort, and his eyes narrowed as he watched Sketchy gently brush a lock of hair out of Rosie's eyes. "Max…" he breathed and Max followed his gaze.

"Get him out of here." She commanded OC, and she grabbed Alec by the shoulders and hauled him up the stairs and out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Alec sighed and kept walking. The perimeter was his least favorite patrolling ground these days, because Rosie was always running circuits. Her scent was all over the place, taunting him, reminding him every second of where he wanted to be… where he _should_ be.

He paused and leaned against the fence, his eyes closed, inhaling deeply. Rosie had paused here to rest recently. A smile played on his lips as he remembered her crying out his name, his climax, and her gentle kisses as he murmured her name over and over.

_Rosie, I love you._

His eyes shot open. He'd said that. Repeatedly. During and after, between kisses and orgasms and moans; between those soft little "_ahs"_ that told him to keep going, keep touching, keep biting. And then there was her smile, flashing before his eyes, satisfied, happy, mingled with lust.

And then pain shot through him and he bolted from the fence, spinning as he did to find six Ordinaries scaling the chain link and landing on the other side.

"I thought you freaks were supposed to be hyperaware." One breathed, he was obviously the leader, he was holding the taser he'd used on Alec's shoulder.

"Nah, they're not that tough." A large black man smirked.

Alec caught movement out of the corner of his eye, but ignored it, focusing entirely on how best to survive.

"Think again." Someone murmured and the large black man went flying. Alec smiled as Rosie appeared. "Did you know…" she punched the man with the taser, blurred behind another and kicked him in the stomach. "That we instituted martial law this week?" she grunted and Alec caught the arm of the leader before he could use the taser on Rosie. "We can kill you simply for being here."

Her arm shot out and Alec grabbed her wrist, locking their arms together and swinging her in a wide arc so that she could lock her legs around another one and knock him to the ground. She let go mid-arc and flipped midair, grabbed another, and tossed him bodily back over the fence.

Alec glanced around at the rest of the bodies quickly before his eyes settled on Rosie. She was breathing heavily, as though she'd blurred the entire perimeter to get to him in time; her leather jacket was falling off her right shoulder, exposing that beautiful white mark, clear as day to any transgenic.

She bent down and began heaving all of the bodies over the fence, letting them fall with dull _thuds_ on the other side. He could tell they were all alive, but that she wanted to give them a stern warning in the form of as many aches and pains as she could manage. She finished quickly and turned, prepared to leave him again.

"Rosie." He choked out and she froze. He made a split-second decision before she could react and blurred to her, pressing her against the fence, nuzzling her neck, kissing his mark. "Rosie." He whispered again, but she was shoving him away.

"I have to get to a meeting with Max." she breathed. "I was just passing through."

Alec shook his head. "You know that's not true." He murmured.

"Who cares if it's not?"

"I do!" he cried, reaching out to her.

Rosie took several steps back. "I can't do this, Alec. I have to go."

He gritted his teeth. "You wouldn't talk to me about this at all, regardless of your meeting."

She shook her head. "No. I wouldn't." she turned and blurred back toward Command.

*~*~*

Rosie sighed and knocked on Max's door.

"Come in!"

She opened the door and gave Max a tight smile as she closed the door behind her. "You wanted to see me, Top?"

"Have a seat." Max smiled in what she hoped was an encouraging way and leaned back in her chair.

"I think I'll stand."

Max sighed, but nodded. "Look, Rosie," she leaned forward and folded her hands on her desk. "I know you've had a lot of people coming at you with advice these past few weeks… emotional, scientific—"

"Darwinian." Rosie rolled her eyes. "Top, please tell me you didn't ask me here to talk about a—"

"An encounter between you and Alec?" Rosie pulled a face and Max gave a small smile. "Look, Rosie, I can appreciate what you're going through… Manticore took my choice away from me too. The virus in me is engineered for Logan's DNA markers… and I can understand how it must feel for you to feel you have no control over it." she sighed and stood. "But Alec loves you… a few years ago, I would have said that was impossible, but I see it in him every day… and I need my Ex. O. I need his head in the game, I need your head in the game… and I need you both to figure this out." She paused for a moment, watching Rosie watch the floor. "Just think about it, OK?" Rosie nodded and opened the door. "Hey Rosie?" Rosie paused, halfway out the door. "When I need to think… I climb to the top of the Space Needle." She smiled warmly. "Kind of helps put things in perspective."

"Just a thought?" Rosie asked sarcastically and Max smiled.

"Yeah. Just a thought."

"Thanks, Top."

*~*~*

Rosie sighed and poured herself another shot, careful not to slop the tequila. She stared into the yellowed liquid for several moments, calculating nearly everything she could think of simply to keep her mind away from her assigned thinking. She licked her lips and swallowed the shot, grimacing as it burned its way down. She glanced at the half-empty bottle. It was full a half-hour ago.

"I hate transgenic metabolism." She muttered to herself and poured another shot. Her ears caught the distant sound of someone climbing up the ladder and she smirked as the wind carried his scent to her. "Shit." She drank the shot quickly, examined the bottle again, and drank another. He'd paused at the top of the ladder, unsure of himself. He hadn't known she was there. Rosie licked her lips again and poured another shot, ignoring him.

Alec deliberated for several long minutes, staring at Rosie's back as she watched the city below, before he finally climbed onto the platform and took a tentative step forward. She knocked back another shot, refilled the glass, and set it down an arm's length away from her. He smiled and sniffed, frowning as the wind carried her scent the opposite direction, but he schooled his features and sat down next to her, drinking the shot carefully.

"What are you doing here?" he murmured.

Rosie sighed and accepted the glass from him, filling it and drinking before replying. "I've been assigned to _think_. Max recommended this place… figured it'd help put things in perspective." She filled the glass again and took another shot. "You?"

"Came up here to think… figured Max comes here for a reason." He sighed as she took another shot. "Rosie, I know you're angry…" he was cut short as Rosie shook her head vigorously.

"I _was_ angry." She sighed and knocked back another shot, taking time to examine the bottle… not much left. "I was _so_ angry… and hurt… and now? I'm just confused."

Alec frowned thoughtfully, attempting to mask the hurt he felt. "Why?" he whispered hoarsely.

"Because I lusted after you." She replied baldly. "When we first got here all the way through…" she shook her head. "I wanted you… and then to find out that Manticore is _still_ fucking with me…" she laughed darkly. "To find out it was just the _animal_ in me… the animal in _you_."

"Don't say that." He murmured and he reached out carefully, brushing her hair aside so that he could run his fingers over her barcode. "It's not all animal. It's me too."

"It's the animal, Alec. It's the lion in me and the lion in you saying _I wanna tap that_ and taking control. It's not—"

She stopped as Alec hooked her chin with his index finger and turned her face to his. He lovingly pressed his forehead to hers, touched the end of his nose to hers, his eyes closed as he gently grazed his fingertips over her cheek. He reached out with his other hand to lace his fingers with hers, but instead of kissing her knuckles, as she'd expected, he brought her hand to his shoulder and slid it under the collar so that she could feel her imprint.

"_That_ is the animal." He murmured, opening his eyes to her shocked expression. "But this," he cupped her cheek with his hand and stroked her jawbone. "This is me." And then he took her other hand and pressed it over his heart. "This is me." He curved his head around and kissed her cheek softly. "This is me… wanting to be with you." He felt her quiver at his touch and smiled as her fingers pressed into his chest, not pushing, _feeling_.

"Alec…" she murmured.

"It's just me, Rosie." He whispered gently, watching her eyes carefully, holding her gaze. "I know where I stand… so you tell me… is it the animal? Or is it you?" he pressed his lips to hers, stroking the backs of her hands, held in place with his own, with his thumbs. "Is it the animal? Or is it you?" he repeated.

"I…" Rosie pressed her eyelids shut for a moment. "I can't do this." She finished quickly, pulling away from his so fast he hadn't had time to restrain her. "I can't do this, Alec." And then she was climbing down the ladder and out of sight before he could make it to the ground to go after her.

*~*~*

Rosie blurred so quickly around the perimeter she'd bypassed the same two X-Fives three times. She was trying to clear her head, think straight, if only for a few moments. Unfortunately, her thoughts kept traveling back to Alec. To his smile, his eyes, his kisses, his tender and loving embrace and suddenly she skidded to a stop, her heels digging into the dirt.

She panted for several minutes, doubling over, sweat beading on her forehead. How long had she been running? She checked her watch. Too long. Way, way too long. Her patrol shift had ended several hours ago. Glancing to the east, she realized the sun was just peaking over the horizon.

Being with Alec was… incredible. She wanted him, the animal in her wanted him… the animal in her _needed _him. His comfort and his smiles and his attentiveness. The human in her needed all that too.

She sprinted to his apartment faster than she'd ever run for or from anything. She pounded on the door with her fist, not stopping even when she heard him move inside. When he paused just on the other side of the door, she knew he knew it was her, and so she pounded with both fists, faster, harder, nearly enough to knock the door off its hinges.

Alec swallowed the lump in his throat and glanced back at the two bottles of Jack Daniels he'd killed since returning home. He closed his eyes for a moment and then slowly unlocked the door and opened it, expecting another onslaught of rejection. Her face pained him. Flushed, but not in heat; exhilarated, but not by him.

"It's me." She whispered and he cocked an eyebrow in confusion. She pushed him inside and closed the door, never removing her hands from his shoulders. "It's me… not the animal. It's me." And then she was pulling him into a bruising kiss, her arms locked around his neck, fingers stroking his barcode.

Alec grabbed her rear and lifted her off her feet, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist as he carried her to his bed. He set her down on the edge, kneeling before her as she pulled his shirt over his head and kissed her mark tenderly.

"Yours." She murmured, pressing his palm into the mark on her shoulder. "All yours."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"The nucleotides are the problem, Max. I can't isolate them long enough to find a way to counteract the virus." Lydecker sighed, his eyes squinted in frustration.

Rosie smiled as Alec sat down next to her, planting a quick kiss on her neck. "Why don't you use a protein polymer?" she asked, spooning oatmeal into her mouth. Lydecker raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged. "It'd isolate the nucleotides, keep the virus from replicating for a few hours." She smirked as he frowned at her. "Must kill you… one of the best killers you ever created… knowing more than basic triage and field medicine."

Lydecker set his spoon aside and leaned back in his chair. "Could work." He gave her an appraising stare. "And yes, it does."

"Don't tease me." She drawled, leaning in to Alec's shoulder.

Alec smirked and nuzzled her neck. "Be nice."

"That was nice." Max chortled, then squared her features. "How soon?"

"That depends. Do I have some help?" he nodded at Rosie.

"Not much on the _do one, be one_. Just the _see one_." She responded. Max's eyes widened, pleading. "I'm sorry, Max… Just not… my thing. I'm great with the knowledge, not with the practice." Max nodded her understanding.

"No worries." She sighed. "We need to start pulling in tighter." She'd completely changed topics, now flipping a file folder open. "We've got too many people, not enough space to house them."

"Well, Rosie and I can help." Alec answered, wrapping his arm around Rosie's waist and sliding her closer. "We've been slowly moving her stuff into my apartment for the last month."

"Helpful." Logan smirked. "I assume it's less about housing shortage, more about sex."

Rosie smirked. "More about Manticore-engineered sex drive."

"Thanks for that, by the way." Alec grinned at Lydecker. His eyes narrowed and he craned his neck suddenly. "Krit and Rish…" he turned, his pupils expanding and contracting as he zoomed in on the two X-Fives, already in a heated argument.

He and Max leapt out of their seats and crossed the mess hall quickly as Krit and Rish toppled their table and began trading blows. "That's enough!" Max yelled, yanking Krit by the shoulders as Alec pulled Rish into a headlock.

Rosie and Logan joined them, placing themselves between the two warring X-Fives. Rosie shot them each a glance. "Who is it, Rish?" she asked. Rish nodded at Davey, sitting at another table, eyes wide.

"What's going on, Rosie?" Logan whispered.

Rosie's tongue emerged at the corner of her mouth, tasting the room. "Testosterone… huge amounts." She murmured and her eyes wandered to Davey again. "Pheromones."

"She's in heat?" Max asked.

Alec inhaled deeply. "No… they're… fighting over who gets to mate with her."

"How do you know?" Max asked.

He smirked. "Because I nearly ripped into Sketchy… and Krit for being too close to Rosie… and once… Logan for looking at her wrong." His smile was genuine now as his eyes fell on Rosie.

"That doesn't explain it though." Logan murmured. "Those are all symptoms that are easy to hide."

"Isn't it obvious?" Lydecker had joined them now. "They've been through it. They know what to look for." He cocked an eyebrow. "They know what it smells like… the hormones."

Max sighed. "Fine. Keep them all separated." And she hauled Krit out the back door. Once gone, Alec released Rish and he and Rosie left through the front door.

"Speaking of heat…" Alec started, wrapping his arms around Rosie's waist and leaning down to kiss her shoulder.

"No one really did _mention_ heat." She countered as his lips trailed lazily up her neck.

"Well, I just spoke of it so… speaking of _heat_…" his face became serious. "You've got yours in a few days. It's been driving me nuts for the past few hours."

Rosie smirked. "Sorry, didn't mean to dump my pheromones all over you." She laughed.

"Yeah, well, it was worse that every other guy in the mess hall was waging an internal battle on whether or not to try and jump you." He kissed her cheek. "You should probably keep your shoulder bare when it's close to your heat."

She rolled her eyes and started walking again. "Yes, because I can't take care of myself."

"I didn't say that." Alec frowned and followed after her. "I know you can take care of yourself." He sighed then as Rosie allowed him to lace his fingers with hers. "But also, you oughta get Deck to give you that medicine again."

"Mm-hmm." She smiled and nudged him with her hip. "I already did. Just figured it'd be easier if you weren't around… that whole growling thing sort of puts people off."

"It's not like I can help it." he defended, then he sighed. "It's not easy, you know… needing someone like I need you."

Rosie nodded. "I know the feeling." Her brow furrowed in thought. "You should probably try to score some condoms… before the heat really kicks in."

Alec nodded. "Sure… I mean… I guess."

"What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Condoms. Check."

*~*~*

Alec ground his teeth together as he and Max stared at the large map they'd hung on the wall of Command. His forehead creased in worry and then his eyes darted to the door.

"If you're that bored, I can finish this myself." She said, slightly offended.

Alec shook his head and sat down. "I can't get rid of this _feeling _that something's gone wrong on that supply run." He murmured.

"They're fine, Alec." Max whispered, touching his shoulder gently.

He smiled his thanks. "I know. I just worry."

Max nodded. "Sucks, doesn't it?"

"What?"

"Worrying. Caring."

Alec shrugged. "I don't know… I always thought it was a weakness, but… Rosie makes me _feel_."

"And you like it."

He nodded. "Yeah. I never thought I'd like it, but I do."

They started as Logan stormed into the Command. "Turn on the news." He hissed. Max obliged and they turned to the television.

"This Hoverdrone footage was taken earlier today as two suspects, one male, one female, supposed to be Transgenics, came under fire by some unknown attackers." The reporter stated and their eyes widened as the TV flashed footage of Eric and Rosie in the middle of melee with men clad in black. "The two Transgenics have yet to be identified, however, and it is currently unknown who actually attacked who." The Hoverdrone panned to show Eric and Rosie scaling a building and taking off before their attackers could follow them and Max clicked the TV off.

"White's men?" Logan asked.

"No reason to say no… but no reason to say yes." Max's eyes narrowed in thought.

"It was White." Someone gasped and they turned to find Eric slumped against the door. "It was White."

Alec crossed the room and grabbed Eric by the front of his shirt. "Where's Rosie?"

"We got separated." Eric slumped further. "I told her to go… figured they'd follow me." He shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes. "White wasn't expecting her to be so fast… he thought she was X-Five."

"What do you mean he wasn't _expecting_ her?" Logan whispered.

Eric shook his head drunkenly. "He wanted to know where her Mate was… called her Four hundred."

Alec's eyes widened. "They know?" Eric nodded. "How?"

"It's obvious." Max sighed. "We've got an Informer."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Rosie groaned and opened her eyes, struggling against the chair she was bound to. "Shit." She murmured.

"Welcome back, Four hundred."

Rosie's head snapped up and her eyes narrowed as Ames White smiled at her. She struggled again and the chair tipped.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I should have told you that chair's a bit unstable." He grabbed the back of the chair with one hand and righted her. "So where's your Mate, Four hundred?" he asked, crouching down to her eye level. "We were expecting him to be with you." Rosie trained her eyes at the wall behind him. "Where is he, Four hundred?"

"Does that actually work?" she grimaced. "Repeating the same question over and over?"

Ames smirked. "No. I just wanted to give you the chance to hand him over."

"Because I'm actually gonna do that."

"You don't have to. We have you, Four-Nine-Four's Mate." His smile turned wicked. "He'll come for you… possibly with Four-Five-Two in tow. And then we'll have her."

"And if Alec comes alone?"

"Then we have him… and Four-Five-Two isn't about to let two friends go… especially not her Ex. O. and his Mate."

"Alec's not that stupid."

He smirked again. "Maybe not… but he _is_ blinded by his love for you."

Rosie licked her lips, thinking. "So how'd you know, anyhow? Alec and I rarely venture outside Terminal City. We don't party at Crash every night. We certainly aren't having sex on the streets of Seattle… how'd you figure it out?"

"I'm not obligated to reveal my sources."

"Of course not. But if you're going to kill me anyway, what's the harm?"

"Nice try." Ames tipped the chair again, relishing the crash and groan as she hit the concrete slab. "You're smart, but not that smart."

"Well, my IQ is close to two hundred." She mumbled as her lips scraped the concrete. "So this have something to do with your breeding cult thing?"

"I wouldn't bring that up, if I were you."

"Then I'll keep asking. It's called the Conclave, right?" she smiled as White pulled a face. "And it's got something to do with snakes, I know that… and killing the first two children born… selective breeding and—"

White grabbed the chair and threw her across the room. She crashed into the wall and grunted as she smacked the floor again. "I know what you're trying to do. You're hoping I'll kill you and Four-Nine-Four will _know_… and then he won't come looking."

*~*~*

"Max, we have to go get her!" Alec yelled, tearing the map off the wall.

"Alec, we can't! That's exactly what White wants us to do."

"We can't just leave her with him!" his eyes were wild, fearful and Max felt her heart break.

Max sighed. "Alec, I understand, but—"

"You cannot _possibly_ understand." He whispered hoarsely.

"What's not to understand, Alec? You love her. I get that."

Logan placed himself between the two X-Fives, his exoskeleton humming as he moved. "Max, I agree with Alec."

"White's expecting us!"

"Let him! We have to get Rosie back!" Alec shot around Logan.

"She might already be dead!"

Alec shook his head furiously. "She's not. I'd feel it. She's alive, Maxie, and she needs us."

Max chewed her lip, debating. "Logan," she murmured. "We need to find out where White would stash her." Logan nodded and sat down at his computer. "Alec, we need a team to go. White'll be waiting for you." Alec nodded. "Get Biggs, Mole, Krit, Rish, Syl… anyone you can round up."

"Thanks, Max."

*~*~*

"You're just like Four-Five-Two, you know. She thinks she understands." He lifted Rosie easily and righted her again. "You don't."

Rosie blinked furiously, trying to clear the blood running into her eyes. "Sure… Supremacy of a certain race… that's not hard to understand at all. I read about this guy Hitler… he had the same notion. I think he lost." She noted sarcastically.

"Hitler didn't have anything on _us_."

"Yeah, like I haven't heard that before." She struggled again, this time managing to free her hands, but not before White could catch on. He brought the grip of his gun down on the back of her head, knocking her out.

"They should have come for you by now." He murmured, lifting her chin to look at her face. "No worries though. Even if they don't come for you, I can still cripple them." He crossed the room to a gas barrel and knocked it over, watching with satisfaction as fuel spilled out, creeping across the floor toward Rosie. He smiled and struck a match.

*~*~*

"This is the last place on Logan's list." Max sighed, peering out the window of the stolen van.

Alec nodded, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tight, his knuckles were white. "She has to be here." He murmured.

"I don't mean to pry," Mole interjected, chewing the end of his cigar. "But what if Peaches isn't here?"

"Then we keep looking." Alec answered, scowling.

"Alec," Max breathed. "If she's not here, we may have to—"

"You do what you have to, Max." he cut in, his eyes narrowing. "But if this isn't it, if she's not here, then I won't stop until I find her."

"Wait." Mole pulled himself through to the front seat, craning around Max. "Look. That's White."

White was just exiting the building, his cell phone at his ear. He paused and looked up as an explosion rent the air and shattered glass rained down from above.

"Rosie!" Alec yelled, climbing out of the van and blurring toward White. Max, Mole, and the others followed close behind. "Rosie!"

White drew his gun at the commotion, but was forced to look up again at the sound of more breaking glass. Alec paused as well, his eyes skyward as a ball of red hair and black leather rolled midair and connected with White.

Max grabbed White in a stranglehold as Alec lunged for Rosie, pulling her tight to his chest and cutting the rope around her wrists. "Biggs with me!" she yelled. "The rest of you get Rosie back to TC."

Alec scooped Rosie into his arms and climbed into the back of the van while Mole took the wheel. He brushed some hair out of her face and gently kissed her forehead.

"It's alright, Peaches." Mole called as he floored the gas pedal. "We'll have you home in no time."

Rosie shook her head, wincing as she did, and her hand flew to her neck, her fingers tracing over a large red burn. "He knows too much, Alec." She whispered.

"I know."

"No! He _knew_ you'd come after me… he was counting on it. He called me your _Mate_." Her eyes were panicked. "Someone's telling him things."

"We know. We just don't know who." He murmured soothingly. "We know, Rose. Calm down. You need to calm down. You're injured."

"Could be worse."

"You're covered in burns." He argued. "You need medical attention and rest."

She pushed herself up into a sitting position, shaking her head again. "I need to kill White is what I need."

"Peaches, don't argue with the man, please. I'd hate to see him have to restrain you." He veered onto a side street and pulled the van through the back gate of Terminal City. "Here you go, kids. We'll send a Med up to meet you."

Alec nodded and climbed out of the back. As Rosie made to follow, he scooped her up again and headed into their apartment building.

"Alec! I can walk!"

He smirked and held her tighter. "Rosie, you're covered in burns." He nodded at her neck and then at the rest of her body, forcing her to look down at her singed and burned clothes. More burns were on her chest and stomach and her jeans were still smoking lightly.

"I'm fine. I can walk. I… I…" she paused, her brow furrowing in thought. "Put me down." Alec sighed and set her down as he reached the sixth floor landing. "He knew… too much."

"Yeah, we covered this."

She shook her head, her hand up to keep him quiet. "He knew too much… that you'd come after me, that Max would help… Max is his end game." She sat down on the steps. "He knew more about what's been going on with us than most people here know… specifically, you, me, Max, Logan, Lydecker… and Eric."

Alec sat down beside her. "What are you saying, Rosie?" he whispered.

"Max and Logan wouldn't do that… Lydecker loves his science project too much to let us fall into enemy hands…" her brow furrowed. "But Eric… was acting strange this morning… jumpy… he told me to run, take the back alleys back to TC… and that's where they found me… when none of them were close enough to hear his order, they found me." Her eyes widened in realization.

He sighed and pulled out his cell phone, punching a speed dial button. "Max, it's Alec. Call me when you get this message. Rosie thinks Eric's the Informer."


	10. Chapter 10

Reminder: REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

Chapter Ten

"Where's Alec?" Rosie asked as Lydecker placed a salve-soaked bandage on her neck.

"He's helping Max and Logan interrogate Eric." He frowned and cocked his head upward to squint down his nose. "He's fine, Sweetie."

"He's possessed." She grumbled. "You should have seen him, Deck… I've never been scared of Alec… either when he was just an X-Five, or now… But today?" she sighed. "It's like he's lost it."

Lydecker nodded sadly and wrapped another bandage around her right bicep. "His Mate was threatened. It's understandable."

"Stop saying that word!" she groaned. "That's the word White used."

"Did he?"

"Yeah, he asked me where my Mate was… kept referring to Alec by either his designation or _Mate_… Deck?" she watched his brow furrow. "Deck? What is it?"

Lydecker smiled and patted her hand gently, then applied another bandage to her left shoulder. "It's nothing." He sighed. "You know, you're pretty lucky that your left side seems to be the side that got the brunt of it." he nodded at Alec's brand. "Pretty sure he would have lost it worse if that were damaged in any way… all trace of him gone."

"He'd never be gone." She murmured, tracing her fingers fondly over the slightly raised marks. "Careful there, Deck." She warned sternly as he soaked another bandage and laid it over her upper thigh.

"I know. Definitely don't want Alec to smell too much of me." She nodded. "I know you don't believe it, Rosie… Most of you don't… but I do actually care what happens to my kids. I wanted you strong, I wanted you to be a survivor."

"You went about it the wrong way."

He smiled. "Maybe, but everything you went through at Manticore, you went through to make you strong."

"So trying to kill me… that was to make me strong?"

"Do you honestly believe I thought you and Caleb could be cut down that easily?" he chuckled. "That mission wasn't my call. I _wanted_ to change your units out." He sighed. "I wanted to expose you to the rest of our units, not keep you locked up. You're so much more advanced than the rest of the X-Six-S series. I wanted to have you train with the X-Fives, give them a run for their money."

"Keep talking, Deck. All I hear are excuses, mind-games, and bullshit."

There was a sharp rapping on the front door and then it opened. Max stepped inside and shut the door behind her. "Eric's begging for us to kill him." She sighed. "He said that White told him he'd let him live if he helped."

Rosie smirked and shook her head. "Rule number one… never trust that line."

Max nodded. "I know." Her eyes fell. "He said… he said he wants you to do it, Rose. Said your venom's painless."

Rosie inhaled sharply. "Strictly speaking… yeah. It's one of those Manticore-engineered things. So if I bit someone, they'd never know I was poisonous… there'd be no symptoms and then they'd just drop dead." She shot a shy look at Lydecker.

"That's how he wants to go."

"No."

Max sighed and sat down. "He's a liability, he knows too much, and he's stated that under torture, he'd tell everything he knows."

Rosie gritted her teeth, her eyes falling. "I want to talk to Alec first." She murmured.

"Great, where is he?"

Lydecker's head shot up and his eyes narrowed. "When Alec left, he told me he was going to help interrogate Eric… with _you_."

Max shook her head. "I offered, but Alec said he wanted to be with Rosie."

Rosie shot to her feet and headed for the door. "I have to go find him."

"Rosie, you're injured. You're moving too slow." Lydecker protested.

Max cut her off, lightly pushing her shoulders. "We'll find him. Calm down, _sit_ down, relax."

"No, if Alec's—"

The door opened and they all turned to find Alec wandering in. "If I'm what?" he asked, frowning.

"Where've you been?" Max asked, continuing to press Rosie back onto the couch. "We were worried."

He held up a white rose and a prescription bottle. "Painkillers for the burns and a rose for my Rose."

"That was really lame." Max muttered, rolling her eyes.

*~*~*

Alec ushered Max and Lydecker out and helped Rosie into the bedroom, smiling as she protested. "Will you just let me take care of you, please?" he begged.

"I'm not incapacitated!" she grumbled.

He smiled and helped her undress. "I realize that." He nuzzled his mark, gently kissing her shoulder. "But you need to take it easy." He sniffed her neck and frowned. "Lydecker's scent is all over you."

"Well, that's what we get when he's the only one with any medical training Mole could track down." She sighed as she crawled into bed.

Alec shrugged. "I guess." He turned and peeled his T-shirt off.

"Where's your barcode?"

His hand flew to the back of neck and he turned sheepishly. "I had to get it lasered off to get into Sector One for the pills." Rosie frowned and he could tell she didn't believe him. "They tightened security." She continued to frown. "It's nothing. It'll come back."

"Sure. I know it will." She cocked an eyebrow. She shook her head and smiled. "I have to get Max to cut my hair. It's singed bad."

Alec smiled and finished undressing, then crawled into bed. "Not too short. I like your hair."

"It'll grow back." She sighed as he folded her into his arms. "Ooh, careful, that one on my stomach's pretty bad."

"Sorry." He whispered into her hair. He sighed and kissed her neck. "I was so worried… I _knew_ something was wrong. I can't explain it, I just knew."

Rosie nodded, closing her eyes and settling against his chest. "Same way I just _knew_ that night those Ordinaries jumped the perimeter."

"Yeah, well, no more supply runs for a while, OK? You'll just stay here in TC and be safe." His fingers gently pressed into the unburned flesh of her stomach.

She turned, frowning again. "Sure… the day you decide you're staying with me."

"Rosie, I'm the Ex. O. I can't just send everyone else outside to make those runs. I have to participate."

"Oh, but you expect _me_ to sit here and be useless?"

Alec sighed and sat up. "You almost burned alive today, Rosie."

"But I didn't!" she cried, sitting up also. "I didn't, Alec. I'm fine. A little singed here and there, but _fine_." She frowned as he stared down at the white sheet covering them. "I know what this is, you know, and I'm not going to let you blame it on the lion tonight. If I were anyone else, you'd be sending me back out _next week_."

_Dammit._

"But you're _not_ anyone else, Rosie." He replied. "The instinct to protect you is stronger than any other instinct I have. No more runs." Rosie gritted her teeth and climbed out of bed. She grabbed a fresh, non-burnt pair of jeans and a shirt from the drawer and pulled them on. "Where are you going?"

"To talk to Max."

"Can't you talk to her tomorrow?"

"No." she replied simply, pulling on her boots. "Because as my C.O., she's the only one who can override my Ex. O." she shot him a glare.

"That's not fair, Rose."

"_Oh_, and forbidding me to do my job is fair?" she didn't wait for an answer, choosing to simply leave quickly before he could beat her to Command.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Rosie shot a quick glance across the Command Center to find Alec watching her carefully. She sighed and bent closer to the map she and Max were examining. Sensing the tension, Max turned and glared at Alec, who quickly turned back to the housing plans he and Logan were going through.

"Still mad?"

Rosie nodded. "Yeah… Actually, I don't think _mad_ necessarily covers it. Livid would be a good description."

Max grimaced. "He still not talking to you?"

"Oh, he talks. He acts completely normal… but it's the silence that's the loudest. It's those quiet moments when I sit and read or when I'm in the bath and the normal standard issue Manticore-mask falls away and he just looks… hurt. Betrayed."

She nodded. "You have no idea how long he and I argued." She frowned and narrowed her eyes as Alec turned his back to them. "Where's his barcode?"

"He's been having it lasered off for a few weeks now." Rosie muttered. "He said it had something to do with tighter security in Sector One." She frowned. "But he's been disappearing late at night when he thinks I'm asleep."

Max tried her best to hide how appalled she was. "Have you tailed him?"

Rosie laughed, even as a tear slid down her cheek. "God knows he'd never know I was there… whole being just one generation more perfect than him… but…" she sighed and went back to the map. "Part of me really… doesn't want to know… if it's…" she shook her head and her hand unconsciously went to her shoulder. "Part of me is afraid I'd become exactly what the world thinks we are… if I knew."

Max nodded, her eyes on the spot on Alec's neck where the barcode should have been. "You know, why don't you take off? Lydecker mentioned something about needing to pick your brain about that cure." She smiled reassuringly and pulled Rosie into a one-armed hug. "I can handle the supply routes myself."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Rosie nodded and headed for the door, grabbing her leather coat as she went.

Max took a deep, calming breath and stepped over to the other table. "Alec, there something you want to tell me?" she asked, eyeing him carefully.

Alec thought for a moment, frowning, but then shrugged and shook his head. "No." Logan glanced carefully at Max and quietly excused himself before heading into his office.

"Really?" Alec didn't respond, so she grabbed the collar of his gray shirt and yanked it down, effectively jerking him away from the table. "Where's the barcode, Alec?"

"Easy, Max!" Alec took several steps backward. "What the hell?"

"Where's the barcode?"

"I had it lasered off so I could get through Sector Police when Rosie was burned. The only pharmacy stocking codene is in Sector One."

"Bullshit! That was over a month ago! It would've come back by now!"

Alec scowled. "What are you, my baby-sitter now? I don't need your permission to have my barcode lasered off."

Max gritted her teeth, a muscle in her jaw pulsing. "No, you don't… but just so you know, Alec, you're not being as sneaky as you think."

His smile faltered. "What are you talking about?"

Max shook her head sadly. "She's X-Six, Alec… do you honestly think you can come and go in the middle of the night and she won't notice?"

"Obviously she hasn't."

"She _has_! That's my point!" Max cried, exasperated. "She doesn't want to follow you because she's scared of what she might see!"

Alec's eyes widened. "She… she thinks I'd…" he pressed his lips into a thin line, unable to complete the thought.

"Would you?"

"No!"

"Then what are you doing?"

"None of your business, Maxie! Just stay out of it!" Alec turned on his heel and strode out the door.

Logan poked his head out of his office and she scowled at him. "That didn't go well." He called.

*~*~*

Alec smiled down at Rosie's sleeping form, lightly stroking her arm as she slept. He sighed and kissed her shoulder, then rolled out of bed and slipped out into the living room. He grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt hidden under the couch and slipped out the door.

In the bedroom, Rosie rolled over and reached for her cell phone. She flipped it open and hit a speed dial button. "It's me. He's gone." She hung up the phone, climbed out of bed, and dressed quickly. She went down the back stairs of the building to where Max was waiting for her, astride one of the two Ninjas parked there.

"You sure you want to do this?" Max called, revving the engine.

Rosie nodded, slipped on a pair of sunglasses, and started the second motorcycle. "I have to know, Max." she replied.

*~*~*

An hour later, Rosie and Max pulled into the parking lot of a dive bar known as _The Hump_ just as Alec dismounted his motorcycle and disappeared inside.

Rosie swallowed a lump and Max reached across the parking spot to lay a friendly hand on her shoulder. "We don't have to." She murmured.

"Yeah, I do." She sighed and climbed off. "Let's go before I lose my nerve." And they entered the bar. Max followed Rosie as the younger girl caught Alec's scent and they headed to the back and immediately down a flight of stairs into the basement.

Max frowned as a familiar sight came into view. A raised platform encased in metal chain link, two men inside, slugging it out. "Oh God." She mumbled.

"And now," a beefy man with a microphone yelled. "Having defeated eight opponents in a row, Bulldog Brandon will fight the infamous, the nefarious… Monty Cora!"

A muscle in Rosie's jaw twitched as Alec stepped into the ring, his arms in the air, egging the crowd on in their raucous cheers. He grinned smugly, reached out to shake the large man named Bulldog's hand, and was met with Bulldog's hand clamped at his elbow. His smile faltered as the fighter yanked him off his feet and slammed him into the cage wall.

"What the hell is he doing?" Rosie whimpered, standing on the balls of her feet to see above the crowd.

"Alec used to cage fight for money." Max sighed. "I'm guessing old habits die hard." She winced as Bulldog's fist connected with Alec's stomach and Alec hit the deck. "He can take him, don't worry." But even as she said it, her brow furrowed. "Come on, Alec." She murmured.

Alec climbed to his feet, ran at the wall, and flipped off of it, landing gracefully behind Bulldog. He locked him in a stranglehold, knocked his feet out from under him, and knocked him out easily.

"The winner!" the beefy man was back, pulling Alec's arm into the air as Alec smiled and nodded at the crowd.

The smile disappeared as his eyes found Max and Rosie standing in the crowd, both dressed in black motorcycle leathers, both still wearing their sunglasses, their arms crossed, frowning at him. As soon as he was able, he climbed out of the ring, but Max and Rosie had already disappeared up the stairs.

"Rosie!" he yelled, grabbing his shirt and coat from the sideboard and streaking off after them. "Rosie!" he burst through the front door and grabbed Rosie's arm.

She met him with a roundhouse kick to his chest and he thudded against the wall, sucking in a hard breath as the air left his lungs. Rosie raised her foot to Alec's throat and pressed, anger blazing in her eyes, her entire body shaking with the emotion.

"So you can go out, risk exposure, risk getting caught by White, but I can't."

"Rosie," he gasped but she pressed on his windpipe.

Her lip curled in a snarl. "You know, I thought the worst thing I could find would be some two-penny tramp and a sixer of beer." She removed her foot and he gasped for breath. "But as it turns out, it really didn't matter what I found." She spat on the tarmac and Alec eyed the venom carefully. "Turns out that no matter what… you were lying to me… keeping things from me."

He took a tentative step forward, reaching out for her hand. "Rosie,"

She shoved him back against the wall and Alec heard a faint _crack_ as his skull collided with the bricks. "Stay away from me, Alec. I mean it." he shook his head, his eyes pleading with her. "Just leave me alone." And she turned and ran, kicking the motorcycle to life and speeding off.

Alec frowned and stared at his feet. "It's not what it looks like, Max." he murmured softly.

Max nodded. "I'm not the one you need to convince of that… I don't care what your motives are… you're her _Mate_, Alec. You're supposed to take care of each other… protect each other." She shifted her weight, still staring at him. "You didn't hear her sob as you hit the floor of that cage. You didn't watch her dig her nails into the arms of her coat, anxious that you might actually _lose_." He continued to stare at the ground, ashamed. "I did, though. It was all I could do not to climb into that cage and kick your ass again." Her lip curled in disgust and she stalked off to her motorcycle.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: Thanks to Dreamer, who's support has spurred this story into continuation. I appreciate it.

Please remember to review!

Chapter Twelve

Alec stared at the wall of the Command Center, slumped down in his chair as Mole, Max, and Logan began detailing their new supply routes. He sighed, fingering the rim of his glass, staring at the amber liquid held there. He licked his lips and zoned out.

_Just tell her already._

_Gotta find her first. Max isn't being helpful with that._

_You could find her in a heartbeat if you tried. You're just scared to face her. Coward._

_I am scared. Scared of what she thinks… what she'll say… that she'll leave me._

_She just might. You're not exactly giving her a reason not to. She deserves to know._

He rolled his eyes. Even he wasn't on his own side in this. He leaned over to Max's pad of paper and scribbled quickly in French, knowing Logan couldn't get close enough to see and Mole couldn't read.

_Où_ _est elle? _(Where is she?)

Max frowned, took the pen from him and replied,

_Je ne sais pas. _(I don't know.)

Alec sighed and took the pen back.

_J'ai besoin de la voir. J'ai besoin de faire la comprendre._ (I need to see her. I need to make her understand.)

Max chewed her lip for a moment, debating, before finally writing.

_Elle aide Lydecker avec le remède. _(She's helping Lydecker with the cure. )

Alec nodded his thanks, scooted his chair back, and left, not caring that Mole was in the middle of a sentence, not caring that he should be aware of the new routes. He closed his eyes as he reached the outside, inhaling carefully, searching for any trace of her. Max was right, all signs pointed toward Lydecker's makeshift lab and he took off at a run.

*~*~*

"Have a look at this, Rosie. Your eyes are better than mine." Lydecker slid the microscope across the desk to her.

"You should know." She grumbled and pressed her eye to the lens. She withdrew, head shaking, and sighed. "Nope. We need more specimens… and an actual anti-virus to work with. The polymer isn't giving us enough time to develop one from scratch."

Lydecker nodded, frowning. "Something like that… it'll cost." His eyes darted to the doorway as Alec leaned against the frame. "Perhaps I should… go." He stood and disappeared into a back room.

Rosie raised an eyebrow and looked up from her notes, then frowned. "I don't want to talk to you." She growled and suddenly she was out the door, blurring as fast as she could.

Alec took off after her, tailing her scent more than her movements and as a result, slammed right into the door of his apartment. He pounded with his fist. "Rosie!" he yelled. "Rosie, please, Baby!"

"Go away!" Rosie yelled over her shoulder, stuffing clothes and other odds and ends into her duffel bag. She rounded as the sound of splintering wood met her ears and Alec burst through the door in a hail of broken wood.

He strode across the living room as she backed to the wall and he caught her fist as she swung at him. "I need you to listen to me, Baby." He pressed against her, his mouth at her ear. "I need you to listen." He railed against her as her hands collided with his chest and grabbed her wrists to steady himself. Once done, he reached into his pocket and pulled something out, keeping his fist clenched. "Last night was my last fight, Rosie."

"Yeah, right." She scoffed, attempting to side-step him, but he moved with her, placing a hand on her hip and pressing her against the wall.

"It was." He murmured, pressing his forehead to hers. "I swear. I just needed enough money to get what I needed." She shoved again and he grabbed her wrist with the thumb and forefinger of his clenched hand.

He watched as her jaw tensed and heard her teeth grind together. "What could possibly have been so important?" she whispered, her eyes softening to the point of tears. "What could you have needed so badly you had to hide it from me?"

Alec swallowed and released her wrist, opening his hand to show her. "These." He whispered, pressing his lips to her brow. "I just needed to get these."

Rosie's breath hitched in her chest as she stared at his hand, cradling two rings, one meant for her, the other obviously for him. She fingered them lightly, her eyes wide. "Alec?"

"They're not much." He murmured, suddenly embarrassed. "Silver… most of the gold mines are shut down these days… the country just doesn't have money to keep them running." He swallowed a lump in his throat. "But I wanted something… for us… something that was just us, not the animal part of us… to show that we belong together." He sighed. "And… and you can get anything on the internet these days… Mole's been working on a non-denominational officiate's license for me. He said he wanted to help." He watched carefully as she continued staring at the rings in his hand. "Rosie? Say something… please?"

Rosie drew in a shuddering breath, her fingers still tracing the rings. Slowly, deliberately, she reached up with her left hand and slipped the tip of her ring finger through the smaller of the two rings, flipping it onto its rim and letting it linger there.

Alec smiled and slid the ring the rest of the way up her finger, tugging gently to ensure it wouldn't fall off. "Is that a yes?" he whispered.

She smiled and pulled him into a passionate kiss, fingers lightly tracing over the ridges that were forming at the back of his neck where the barcode was beginning to emerge. Alec smiled into her lips, slipped his own ring on his finger, grabbed her rear, and hoisted her up. He pressed her against the wall, deepening the kiss, only to be interrupted as she began giggling.

"The door's broken, Alec." She murmured, tugging his collar away to plant a soft kiss on her brand.

"Screw the door." He murmured, yanking her away from the wall and carrying her into the bedroom.

*~*~*

Rosie took a deep breath and opened the door to Lydecker's lab. She immediately sat down at the desk and began making notes. She felt Lydecker moving in the storage closet and chewed her lip as he appeared in the doorway.

"You came back." He stated, shocked.

"Yeah." She bent over the microscope.

He smiled and made his way over to the desk, holding out a slide for her to peer at. "I figured once you and Alec had sorted things out, you'd be back in Command."

"What can I say? I hate leaving a puzzle undone." She took the slide from him and slid it into the clip. She frowned as she caught Lydecker nodding smugly. "What?"

"You sound surprised that you couldn't leave it unsolved."

"I am." She squinted. "Who's blood am I looking at?"

"Why?"

"Because the virus… isn't replicating. It's not moving, not infecting fresh tissue." She glanced warily at a drawing she'd made of the viral cells on her notepad. "Who's blood is this, Deck?"

He groaned and sat down next to her. "That would be Max's… with an amped up protein polymer, an antigen that you suggested, and a synthesized peptide bond… that you made a note of, but never suggested."

Rosie's eyes widened and her mouth popped open in a tiny O of surprise. "Are you serious?" she hissed.

"Yes."

She pulled away from the microscope, shock registering on her face. "This is it."

"We need to test it first… at least forty-eight hours of observation… I've developed enough of it for a live specimen test."

Rosie inhaled sharply, nodding. "Max'll be thrilled. I'll let her know." She turned and headed for the door.

"So…" Lydecker called before she could leave. He took the slide out of the clip and placed it in a secure storage box. "When's the happy day?"

Rosie paused in the doorway, her hands braced on the frame. "Saturday… Mole's gotta get up to that old Manticore drop box in Portland for his non-denominational... whatever's license." She kept her eyes trained on the hallway, careful not to look at him.

"That the only reason?" he chuckled.

"Something about… '_doing things right'_." She grimaced. "Not quite sure how _right_ is right, but he wants the whole… white dress, nice shirt thing."

Lydecker laughed. "Makes you feel human, doesn't it?"

"You mean helpless? Yeah." She sighed and turned, shaking her head. "It seems like something I'd watch to prepare for an infiltration and assassination mission… and now I'm starting to feel exactly like I did on those recon missions… watching the bride freak out and cry and—"

"You wonder if you'll cry." He murmured, eyeing her carefully. Rosie nodded. "More importantly, you're actually excited." She nodded again and he smiled. "It's a good thing, Rosie. The bond marriage can bring is… unparalleled."

Rosie sighed and took a step inside. "So… you've done all this before… you know what goes on… all the stupid stuff, all the good stuff?"

Lydecker smiled and shuffled papers. "Yes, I guess you could say that."

"Alec wants everything right… perfect." She chewed her lip for a minute and leaned against the desk. "And I want that too, I guess." She stared at the floor as she felt Lydecker's eyes boring into her face. "As much as it pains me… and believe me," she huffed a laugh. "It does pain me… you're the closest thing to a father I've ever known." Rosie picked up a pen and began drawing small circles on her notepad.

He sucked in a breath, eyes wide. "I'd be honored to give you away."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Max sighed and laid back on the lab table as Lydecker and Rosie busied themselves with opening lines in her arm and preparing the syringe with the almost-maybe-possibly cure. She blinked and cringed as Rosie filled the syringe and flicked it lightly, forcing the air to the top, and then gently depressed the plunger just enough to force the air out.

"I hate needles." Max murmured.

"Don't we all." Rosie replied, frowning. She sighed. "You ready for this?"

"You sure we need forty-eight hours?

Lydecker nodded. "To be sure, absolutely. It's not going to take effect for at least an hour, we'll monitor you through frequent blood work and skin scrapings."

"_Skin scrapings_?" She asked, disgusted.

"Skin scrapings." He nodded. "We have to be absolutely sure."

Max sighed and leaned her head back on the table. "Do it." she winced as Rosie slid the needle into the crook of her arm. "Ow." she groaned.

"Sorry. Had to be done." She tossed the used needle into a battered old Biohazard bin and headed out to the main lab.

Max frowned, watching her retreat. "She OK?" she asked.

Lydecker shrugged. "I assume it's just nerves. Alec wanting everything to be perfect." He gently scraped some skin from the back of her hand. "She… asked me to give her away."

"I heard. Must be irking you… not what she was made for."

He shook his head. "Not at all." He smiled lightly. "I'm actually quite flattered. Just like you, Rosie was always special. A natural-born leader, leaps and bounds ahead of her class." He frowned. "I always wondered… if I'd had my way and she'd been allowed to train with the X-Fives… if I'd have had to separate her and Alec… he doesn't remember, but the X-Six-S series used to run perimeter duty with his unit… he met Rosie a long time ago." He smiled wistfully.

"Why wouldn't Alec remember?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

Lydecker's face fell, suddenly ashamed. "Because we made him forget. Her too." He gave a small smile then. "I knew… if they ever met again, they wouldn't remember… but that they'd somehow feel it." he eyed Rosie's back as she made notes and focused on the microscope slide in front of her.

"Feel what?"

"They claimed each other. Years ago." He sighed. "Don't get me wrong, we separated them before anything could happen… grafted over the marks." His eyes narrowed. "We didn't get to them before they could get their teeth into each other… it was like trying to pull a building apart… two men on each of them, them joined by the fingertips." He shook his head. "Got their teeth into each others' wrists and then they were in Psy-Ops, having it erased… meanwhile getting their wrists grafted so there was nothing to trigger a memory." He smiled sadly. "I always felt bad about that."

Max's eyes widened. "Do they know?"

"No. I haven't had the heart to tell them… that they could've been together all that much sooner… that Rosie would've had a place to run once you destroyed Manticore." He sighed. "I care enough to spare them that. I pointed her here for a reason… I wanted her to find Alec again. I knew if she found you, she'd find him."

Max cocked an eyebrow at him. "So then why were you so surprised that the instinct came out?"

"Acting. I wasn't. I knew it was in them." He shrugged. "I thought it was a fluke… an anomaly. I didn't realize it would or could emerge in the rest." He grimaced. "But at the time, we couldn't risk an X-Six becoming pregnant by an X-Five." He paused a moment. "And yet, I'll be very interested to see what happens when he does get her pregnant."

Max's eyes narrowed. "I can't move, but Rosie can… And I guarantee you she's faster than me."

He smiled and held his hands up in surrender. "I'm a scientist, Max… above all things."

"Not redeeming yourself."

*~*~*

Rosie smiled as familiar footsteps echoed in the hallway and bent further over the microscope. The door opened and she ignored him, smiling to herself as he rolled his eyes, then wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Hello." He murmured, kissing her cheek.

"Hi." She replied, adjusting the magnification.

Alec kissed her neck, resting his chin on her shoulder and sighed. "You gonna come to bed any time soon? It's going on six AM."

"Can't. Me being a bit less human than Lydecker…" she shrugged and tossed a weary glance into the back room where Max was staring at the ceiling. "Gotta get blood and skin every hour."

He sighed and nodded, pressing his lips to her neck again. "Good news?"

"So far, so good… but we can't be sure yet."

"Where's Logan? I figured he'd be waiting by her bedside like a good little Horn Dog."

Rosie leaned over and made a quick note, then spun her chair to face Alec. "She hasn't told him. Guess she doesn't want to get his hopes up."

"I guess that's as good a reason as any. She asleep in there?"

"No. I go in and talk to her occasionally, but I think she's trying to mentally _force_ it to work." She craned her neck to see around him, frowning. "I think I'd be doing the same thing."

Alec smiled sadly and touched her bare ring finger. "Thank God it's not us." He murmured. "Just a few more days."

Rosie swallowed and smiled. "Yeah." She shoved out of her chair and wandered into the back room. "Max? Time for another stick and scrape."

"My favorite game." She grumbled as Rosie pricked her finger and drew the blood into a small tube. "Hey, Alec." She smiled as Alec leaned against the doorframe.

"Hey, Maxie. How ya feeling?"

"Like a pincushion." She sighed and rolled her eyes as Rosie began scraping skin from the back of her hand. "And like someone's taken steel wool to the back of my hand." She complained, stretching her hand and then flexing it. "How much longer?"

Rosie smiled and checked her watch. "Only three more hours, then we're done." Max nodded and began staring at the ceiling again. Rosie sighed and headed back out to her desk and Alec followed.

"Hey," he murmured, catching her hand. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She replied, sitting back down.

Alec raised an eyebrow and crouched down beside her, grasping her hand firmly. "Then how come every time I mention Saturday your eye twitches and you go pale?"

Rosie pressed her eye to the lens, buying time. "Because it's just… awkward." She sighed.

"Awkward?" his brow furrowed and the corners of his mouth pulled down.

She rolled her eyes, sighed, and sat back in her chair. "Just… different… not… you know… what people like us _do_." Alec's face fell and Rosie cupped his cheek. "Hey," she murmured. "It's not that I don't want this, I do." She pressed her forehead to his. "It's just a lot of change in a short amount of time." He gave her a small smile. "Sometimes, I think I'd have actually liked to get to know you better when we were both wearing coffee stains and SI Berettas."

Alec smirked. "I hated those fatigues." He grimaced. "_Coffee stains_… even the name sucks."

"Yeah, but it would've been easier in some ways."

He nodded. "I know." He licked his lips and kissed her shoulder. "I just want to do it right. Give us a life that has nothing to do with Manticore… starting with this." He pinched her ring finger and wiggled it.

Rosie smiled and leaned down to kiss his neck. "I know." She smiled as Alec pressed his cheek to hers. "But…" she sighed. "Do I really have to wear a dress?"

Alec laughed and kissed her neck. "Not if you don't want to, I guess. I just figured you'd like to wear something other than jeans and fatigues."

She rolled her eyes and leaned back. "I could always wear my motorcycle leathers."

"Oh, I thought you'd save that for Saturday _night_. I mean—"

She cut him off, putting a finger to his lips. "I'll wear the damn dress… just don't be surprised if I trip and fall on my face… feline grace or not."


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: Again, thanks Dreamer J I don't know you, but I truly do appreciate your support on this story. This chapter is for you.

Chapter Fourteen

"Well?" Max yelled, leaning forward on the exam table. "Tell me!"

Lydecker shoved the microscope across the desk to Rosie and she peered through it, adjusting the magnification, her pupils expanding. She sighed and sat back, her eyebrows shooting up and down quickly, a smile twitching the corners of her mouth.

Lydecker smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Max, we have good news."

Max stood and blurred out to them. "_Really_?" she cried. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Oh. My. God!" she yelled, yanking both of them into a tight hug. "Thank you! Thank you!"

"Can't. Breathe!" Lydecker and Rosie squeaked together as a slight crunching resounded around the room.

Max released them quickly, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry." She mumbled.

Rosie nodded, returning the smile. "Just in case, though," she shot Lydecker a look. "We've developed an antigen… just in case." Max nodded. "Be careful."

"I will." She promised. "I… I have to go find Logan." Her eyes widened and her smile seemed to drop off her face entirely. "What do I say? What do I say?!"

Rosie shrugged. "Don't ask me. I was in heat the first time Alec and I had sex." She frowned. "The first thing that came to mind for me was _dammit, he bit me_ and then _but it feels soooo good_." She blushed and shrugged again. "Then I bit him and I think there were only one syllable words after that… mainly vowels."

Lydecker rolled his eyes and wandered off as Max laughed. "More than I needed to know, but thanks. I guess I'll figure it out."

*~*~*

"Ow!" Rosie cried, glaring at Original Cindy as a drop of blood appeared on her ankle.

"Sugar, you better hold still so Original Cindy can finish hemming this dress." She shook her head and continued stitching. "Couldn't they put a little _height_ in your cocktail? I mean seriously? You're what? Five feet?"

Rosie rolled her eyes. "Four feet, eleven and three quarter inches… and it's not like they didn't try… something about the snake DNA… stunted the growth… all the X-Six-S unit was kinda… short."

Cindy smirked. "No wonder Pretty Boy dwarfs you… you a midget!"

Max flipped a page in her magazine. "Actually, medically speaking, four feet, eleven and a _half_ inches is considered midget. Rosie scrapes by with that extra quarter inch."

OC shook her head. "I don't even want to know how you know that, Boo." She smiled and finished the last stitch. "There ya go, Sugar. You good."

Rosie closed her eyes, her face scrunched up as though in agony. "Do I even want to look?" she mumbled.

Max smiled and stood, crossing the room to them quickly and shifting Rosie to stand in front of the full-length mirror. "It's fine, Rosie. You look beautiful."

Rosie opened her eyes a fraction, squinting at her reflection. It wasn't a dress she would have picked out, that was for sure… but then again, she wouldn't have ever picked out a _dress_. It was simple and elegant, summery, and not very wedding-dressy. It was sleeveless, with a V-neck and an empire waist. The skirt was straight and, now thanks to OC, ended at her ankles. She sighed in relief and opened her eyes the rest of the way.

"Wow." She breathed. "I look… OK."

"Sugar, you look _better_ than OK." OC nudged her playfully. "You sure you wanna marry Pretty Boy? You know they legalized my kinda matrimony a few years back." She smiled as Rosie rolled her eyes. "That's ma girl. I'll be back. Original Cindy gotta get herself prettied up." She made a quick exit.

Max watched her worriedly as she twitched the skirt of her dress nervously. "You OK?" she asked.

Rosie sighed. "I'm kinda starting to feel like I did when White knocked me out and I came to with the building on fire."

"Rush of adrenaline?"

"Scared shitless." Rosie blushed, ducking her head a little in embarrassment. "It's just easier… when Alec's with me, you know? Nothing seems that difficult when he's near me."

Max smiled. "Yeah. I know the feeling." They both turned as someone knocked on the door. "We're decent!" she yelled.

Lydecker opened the door and poked his head in. "Sorry to interrupt, Ladies, but it's time."

*~*~*

Mole chewed the end of his cigar, glancing between Alec at his left and Rosie as she walked down the aisle. He smiled at the irony of Lydecker at her side, looking like a Proud Papa, as he escorted her down the makeshift aisle they'd erected in the only area with any color, in the heart of Terminal City.

He smiled as Rosie stopped at his right and Lydecker carefully placed her hand in Alec's. Lydecker nodded and took his seat next to Max and Logan, whose hands were joined for the first time without gloves.

Mole sighed. "Friends. Family. Transgenics and Ordinaries…" he glanced around at the crowd, daring any of them to giggle. "We're here today to watch Pretty Boy and Peaches here tie the knot." It was no use. Even Rosie and Alec snickered at that, but they quickly stopped at the glare they received from Mole. "So anyhow, marriage isn't something you enter into lightly… and God knows, Pretty Boy here hasn't gotten heavy with anyone… but then Peaches came along and all of a sudden he's in love and who are we to dispute it?" Alec smiled sheepishly and Rosie stifled a giggle. Mole gave them a genuine smile. "Alec, do you take Rosie to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

Alec smiled, squeezing her hand. "I do."

Mole nodded. "Rosie, do you take Alec to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?" he rolled his eyes, officially bored now.

Rosie nodded. "I do."

"Then with the power vested in my by the Online Church of the Sacred Heart, I now pronounce you…" he thought for a moment. "Transgenic Man and Transgenic Wife." Everyone burst out laughing and Mole grumbled unintelligibly before yelling "Kiss the bride, dammit!"

Alec smiled and pressed his lips to Rosie's temple. "I love you."

"I love you too." She murmured. "Thank you, by the way."

"For what?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"For making me do this." She replied, running her fingers over his barcode. "It was worth it… I wouldn't have it any other way." Alec smiled and kissed her softly.

"Hate to interrupt," Lydecker sighed. "But may I cut in?"

Alec smiled and twirled Rosie into Lydecker's arms. "Bring her back in one piece."

Lydecker nodded and began swaying to the music, Rosie keeping better time than him. "Rosie, there's something I want to tell you. You're not going to like it." he smiled gravely.

"Can't it wait, Deck?" she asked, cocking her head to the side and peering up at him.

He shrugged. "I should wait… but I should also have told you a long time ago." He sighed. "I knew you and Alec were… meant to be together."

"Yeah… you're the one who figured out what was going on with our instincts."

Lydecker shook his head. "Before that." His eyes fell to the ground. "At Manticore. You don't remember running perimeter drills before September of twenty-fifteen, do you?"

Rosie frowned for a moment, thinking. "Come to think of it… no. I don't."

He sighed, nodding sadly. "We exposed your unit to the other X-Series in small doses… occasional perimeter drills at night, testing them as much as we were testing you. You and Alec… stumbled across each other one night in the northeast quadrant. Instead of fighting, like you were supposed to, you two kind of… stood there for a minute. It was long enough to catch my attention while I watched on the surveillance tower… and then you two seemed to be talking, but you weren't, and the next thing I knew, you'd bitten each others' wrists." He placed a hand on her right wrist, lightly tracing his thumb over the grafted skin. "I ordered my men to separate you two… it took them over an hour to pull you apart, you were clinging to each other as though your lives depended on it." he watched Rosie carefully as she frowned, eyes wide. "Nothing happened beyond marking each other… but we couldn't risk finding out what would happen without further research. You were only fourteen, Rosie… Alec was sixteen… we weren't prepared."

"Psy-Ops." She murmured, staring at her wrist.

He nodded. "Yes. But when Manticore went down and you stumbled across me in Vancouver, I knew I had a chance to make things right. I told you to find Max because I knew Alec would be near… I wanted to do something right by you kids."

Rosie gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with tears. "You know, Deck, I really should punch you for that." She murmured.

Lydecker nodded. "I wouldn't blame you if you did." But his eyes widened as she hugged him fiercely.

"Thank you." She murmured. "I can't bring myself to hit you for giving him back to me."

*~*~*

"Scoff if you must, but I saw this in a pre-Pulse movie and it's what people do when they get married." Alec laughed, shoving the door of the apartment open and carrying Rosie across the threshold.

"I feel infantile!" she giggled, running her fingers through his hair.

Alec closed the door with his foot and set her down, blushing. "I know it's corny… I just—"

She pressed a finger to his lips. "I know." She smiled and pulled him into another kiss.

_Mine. All mine._

_Yes. I am._

Alec's eyes shot open and he broke away, his mouth falling open. "Rosie," he gasped. "I… _heard_ you."

She nodded, her eyes wide in shock. "I _heard _you too!" they stared at each other for several minutes. "Alec, what's happening?"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Rosie swallowed and stared at Alec as they leaned against Lydecker's desk. Her eyes were heavily shadowed by lack of sleep and her face was pale and drawn. She slumped against his side as Lydecker sipped his coffee in a vain attempt to wake up.

"Deck, what's happening to us?" Alec asked, glancing worriedly down at Rosie. "I took a drive to Portland last night. We could still hear each others' thoughts."

Max cocked an eyebrow at him. "You took a _drive_ to Portland?"

Alec grinned sheepishly. "Yeah… I swiped Logan's car. You don't think he'll mind, do you?"

Max rolled her eyes and leaned against the door. "Alright, Deck. What've you got?"

Lydecker sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Best guess?" she nodded. "It's what's called _Pack Mentality_. Remember, months ago, when Rosie first went into heat?" they nodded. "They pulled together… them… and us. Over the months, their instincts have grown. Their smells, hearing, and eyesight have heightened, their ability to detect danger for themselves and each other… their ability to find each other."

"That's just Rosie." Alec cut-in. "I can't find her."

"Rosie's senses and instincts have always been sharper than most of the X-Series." Lydecker eyed her carefully. "Nevermind that she's a full series after you, she outstripped her class easily… and most X-Sevens. I'm willing to bet that if she were in danger now, you'd find her easily." He groaned and sat back in his chair. "So, the question becomes: what now?"

Rosie sighed. "I want to see our Manticore Medical Records." Lydecker raised an eyebrow at her and she smirked. "Come on, Deck, do you honestly think I'd believe you defected without taking as much as you could from Manticore? I know you've got those records." His eyes narrowed and he punched a few keys on his computer, then moved out of the chair so Rosie could take his place. She punched a few keys, brow furrowing as she read. "X-Five Four-Nine-Four… Passed, with Prejudice… Passed, with Prejudice… Passed with Prejudice… woah." Her eyes widened and she glanced at Alec. "Highest level of pain-reindoctrination." She frowned. "Deck, where's the Psy-Ops profile for twenty-fifteen?"

Lydecker smiled sheepishly. "I took it off the books." He sighed. "I'm not proud of it, but Alec already had so much going against him because of Four-Nine-Three's escape, I didn't want him euthanized."

"Twenty-fifteen?" Max murmured, thinking, then her eyes widened. "Oh… you told them about that?"

Alec shook his head. "He told _her_ about that… she started thinking about it around two AM while I was on the way back from Portland." He glanced down at Rosie. "What else does it say about me?"

"That you refused to execute a killing blow unless provoked… selfish to a point, but also compassionate to the point that euthanasia was recommended on several occasions, including after your first deep cover mission." Her eyes widened. "Deck… you kept them from euthanizing him." Lydecker nodded. She smirked suddenly, blushing. "High level of sperm density and motility."

Max blanched. "I'm _so_ glad we never followed the breeding program orders."

Rosie hit a few more keystrokes and read her own profile. "Passed, with Prejudice. Passed, with Prejudice… hey, I executed a killing blow just fine… I just didn't do it like everyone else." She frowned. "I'm actually quite offended they passed me with prejudice based on the fact I let the venom do the dirty work."

"That's why the prejudice." Lydecker chuckled. "You didn't want to get your hands dirty, so to speak."

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, I'm fertile too." She frowned again. "Deck, why is it that my unit wasn't simplified after the oh-nine escape?"

Lydecker smiled. "I needed you sharp."

"You needed me sharper than the rest." She amended.

"Yes."

Rosie leaned back in the chair and sighed. "So… _Pack Mentality_… nothing in here illustrating what we can do, and since at the time, you figured Alec and I were anomalies and you were keeping it a secret, we were never studied… what do we do? See if it calms down? Levels out?"

"I suppose we should. I'm not sure what else we can do."

"Well what do we do until then?" Alec asked. He brushed a strand of hair out of Rosie's eyes. "I mean… it's kind of distracting, hearing each others' thoughts." Rosie cocked an eyebrow and smiled. "That's dirty." Rosie smirked and Alec rolled his eyes. "I guess we'll figure it out."

*~*~*

"So… let me get this straight," Original Cindy sighed. "You two can read minds now?"

Alec shook his head and sipped his Scotch. "Just each others'."

"Yeah." Rosie sighed, setting a pitcher of beer on the table. "It's… strange." She frowned. "In a way, kind of cool, but mostly… strange… we can't hide _anything_ anymore."

OC smirked. "Yeah, no more faking orgasms for you, Sugar."

Alec scowled. "Rosie doesn't need to—" his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "_Once_?"

"Just once!" Rosie shifted uncomfortably. "It was late at night, you woke me up! I hadn't slept in three days!"

"Oh, no… No, no, get up, we're going."

"What? Why?"

OC laughed. "Because you've bruised his manly ego and you have to pay your due for faking."

Rosie rolled her eyes. "This sucks." She groaned.

"Thanks!" he cried sarcastically.

"Not _that_!" she sighed. "The mind reading thing… it sucks. I hate it. It needs to stop."

Sketchy sat down next to OC. "What needs to stop?"

"Sugar and Pretty Boy can read each others' minds now… Alec just found out Rosie faked a big O, and he's got his boxers in a bunch." She rolled her eyes.

Sketchy pulled a face. "That's harsh, Rose."

"I. Was. Exhausted!" she cried. "Tell you what, Sketch. You get a girl, and then you make her run the TC perimeter for three days straight, no stops, no breaks other than to pee and eat, and then you wake her up around four AM because you're feeling frisky. I guarantee she'll give you a little more ooh-ooh than she's actually feeling." Rosie ducked her head, blushing.

OC nodded. "I feel you, Girl. I'd do it."

"Do what?" Max asked, pulling up a chair.

"Oh, Christ!" Rosie groaned. "You know what? Instead of going into it again, I'm gonna go pay my due." She grabbed Alec's hand and pulled him out of the chair. "Then, afterward, _no one_ says shit about it!" she glared at Alec. "Especially you."

*~*~*

Alec groaned and stepped out of the shower, cracking his neck. He frowned. Rosie was quiet… mind and voice. He opened the door and poked his head out amidst the billowing steam. "Rose?" called.

"Yeah?" she called back, strangled.

"What are you doing?"

"Standing on my head."

"What?" he wrapped his towel around his waist and padded out to the living room. Rosie was indeed, standing on her head, red in the face from the sudden shift in blood, shaking from the effort and railing against the possibility of passing out. "Baby, why are you standing on your head?"

"I have a theory." She grunted. "Can you hear me?"

"No." he replied, perplexed. "Your theory is that if you have too much blood in your head, I can't hear you?"

"No, my theory is that if I concentrate hard enough, you can't hear me."

He cocked an eyebrow. "So what's with standing on your head?" he asked lamely.

"I've only been this way for five minutes… how long have you not been able to hear me?" she sighed in relief as her legs fell forward and she righted herself, smiling as her face slowly faded to its normal hue.

Alec thought for a minute. "Well, I haven't heard you since I got in the shower… that was about… what? Twenty minutes maybe?" she nodded. "So… OK, I missed it. Why were you standing on your head?"

"To see if I could concentrate equally hard when I was concentrating on something else." She puffed, swaying a little. "Try it."

"I'm not going to stand on my head."

"Try it!"

Alec sighed and stomped into the bedroom. He emerged a moment later dressed in jeans, shooting dagger looks at her. "Fine." He grumbled and put himself into a handstand before slowly lowering himself enough that the top of his head rested on the floor. He screwed up his face in concentration. "Anything?"

"Bits and pieces… I know that _bitch_ was directed at me." She jerked an eyebrow at him and he smiled sheepishly, but then frowned again as he concentrated harder. "Anything now?"

"Still a little bit."

He rolled his eyes in frustration. "Rosie, it's been like this for over a month now. What are we expecting to gain here?"

"I didn't hear that."

"I'm serious."

"No! Alec, I mean I didn't _hear_ that before you said it!" she laughed, clapping her hands together. She shoved him over and he collapsed with a muted _thud_ against the carpet. "We _can_ control it!" she squatted down next to him and kissed him tenderly.

"Mind over matter." He grunted.

"What the mind can conceive, the body can achieve…" she frowned. "I guess that one doesn't work in this case."

Alec snorted a laugh. "No, Babe, I don't think it does." He grabbed her hand and yanked her down so that she was laying on his chest. "But it's good to know we won't be driving each other crazy for the rest of our lives." He smiled and kissed her bare shoulder, then he frowned suddenly and grabbed her hand, pulling it up so that he could examine her wrist. "Kind of sad… every trace of the first time we met… gone."

She shrugged. "Not _every_ trace." She turned her hand so that he could examine the inside of her wrist. "See that there? They messed up the graft a bit. There's a seam right there. See it?" he nodded. "Proof."

He smiled and kissed the faded mark. "It'll do."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Rosie sighed and smoothed out her gray T-shirt, ensuring it was tucked straight, no gaps. She sucked her teeth and glanced down at her boots—perfectly shined. Her lip curled as she took in the standard issue urban camouflage khakis she never thought she'd wear again. She gritted her teeth and fastened her belt, tapping the buckle and smiling at the familiar polished sheen and then scowled at the dog tags hanging from her neck. She looked at herself in the full-length mirror again, turning her head from side to side. Hair pulled back, off the collar.

_Like the officer they made you to be._

She pressed her eyelids closed for a moment. _You are _not _an officer._

_No, but you were made to be. That's what they expected of you… what you're about to do… they expected better._

_Shut up!_ She mentally commanded.

She licked her lips and cracked her neck, then headed for the door. She entered the makeshift brig they'd set up beneath Terminal City ten minutes later, taking her time, exaggerating her slow pace. She cringed as random X-Series stared at her. No one in Terminal City dressed in standard issue Manticore anymore.

She paused as Biggs came out to meet her. "Here to see X-Four Four-Two-Four." Biggs' brow furrowed, but he opened the gate and let her in. "You can go." He shifted uncomfortably. "You can go!" his eyes widened and he disappeared out the front door, handing her the keys. She swallowed again and headed down the empty hall.

Eric was in the last cell on the left, the only inmate in the brig. He laid on his cot and stared at the wall, not bothering to move as the cell door slid open and Rosie stepped inside. "Been a long time." He muttered. "Surprised you came to visit."

"This isn't a social call." Rosie bit out.

His eyes narrowed and he rolled off the bunk, straightening to tower over her. "Have you come to kill me, Rosie? I made that request months ago… six months ago."

She lightly fingered the pink and white, veined, slightly raised burn scar on her neck. "I remember." She sighed. "And no, I'm not here to kill you."

"Well you're certainly not here to let me out. What the hell did you come for!" he yelled, taking a step toward her.

"Stand down, Soldier." He didn't flinch at the command, simply squared his shoulders. Rosie's lip curled and she grabbed his shoulder, forcing him into a twisted bow, her other hand on his barcode, poised to snap his neck if he moved. She bent down so that her mouth was at his ear. "Stand down." She shoved him hard and he collided with the wall before sliding back down to his cot.

Eric licked his lips and rubbed the back of his head. "What do you want, Rosie?" he mumbled. "I'm a risk if you let me out… and you're getting no work out of me, so it's a risk to let me live… I eat food that could be saved for someone pulling weight." Rosie pressed her eyes closed again, inhaling deeply. "Where's your sidearm, Top? Didn't holster it, so you're obviously not going to put a bullet in my brain. You could've broken my neck, but you didn't. You're loathe to use your venom, because the adrenaline will keep pumping long after I'm dead and you won't put Alec at risk while you're still producing venom… what are you here for?"

She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Why did you do it, Eric?" she whispered hoarsely.

Eric sighed. "Seriously? _That's_ why you're here? To ask me _why_?" she didn't answer, so he rolled his eyes and sat forward. "Because I'm weak, OK? Because I wanted to live and I didn't want to be shut up in this hole. We traded one prison for another with this place." He sighed. "But you were the rank and I followed. I followed because you're stronger, you're smarter, and I allied myself with the greatest assurance of survival." He leaned back against the bricks. "But The Conclave? They were a greater assurance of survival once you became _blinded_ by Alec. You lost sight of the mission."

"What mission?"

"Survival. Go to ground."

"We went to ground. We hid for a year like rats in a sewer, Eric! I made the decision _for myself_ to come to Seattle. You didn't have to follow me."

He smirked. "You're my Top."

"_Stop calling me that_! I am _not_ your Commanding Officer!" she swung and he flinched, but her fist connected with the bricks, raining concrete down on his head.

Eric chuckled. "But see, you _were_. In a way, you defected. You released your command to an ill-equipped Series. You made their fight your own, and you had no idea why."

"This fight belongs to all of us. We all own it."

"I never did."

"Then that's your hang up, not mine." She pulled her hand away from the wall, flexing her fingers as blood oozed from her knuckles. She sighed. "You know, Lydecker's got all our files on a portable drive." She backed up to the opposite wall and slid down to sit.

"So?"

"So, I read yours. They had you pegged. Says you'll shift allegiance depending on who has what to gain."

He smirked again. "What's it say about you?"

Her eyes fell. "You know that test they put you through to ensure you could execute a kill command?" he nodded. "I passed… with prejudice."

Eric gave her a crooked smile. "You didn't snap his neck, per order."

"The command was to _kill_. They never said how." She sighed. "You asked me to kill you." He nodded. "The prejudice was based on the fact that I couldn't even bite him… I used my knife to make a cut in his arm… and I spit into it." she sucked her teeth. "I couldn't even execute him like I was made to do… I made that decision for someone once, Eric. I won't make the decision to take a life again."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

Rosie sighed and pushed herself to her feet. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a leaded phial, obviously taken from Lydecker's lab. She grimaced, peering at it and showing him the yellowed liquid inside. "I can't make the decision for you, Eric. You can decide for yourself what's worth more to you." She set the phial on the floor. "Trading one prison for another… or trading life for death." She pulled the door open, stepped out, and locked it behind her.

*~*~*

"So what we need right here, is a way to run water and propane along these lines here. Once we do that, we won't have to worry about heat or water… and we can fuel the generator, so we'll have lights and all." Mole sighed, waving his cigar around as he spoke.

Rosie nodded, squinting at the section of map Mole was pointing at. "I'm sure we can figure something out. I'll get Liz and Cara on it, they're great with that kind of thing." They turned as the door slammed and Max strode in, Alec close behind.

Max stopped in the middle of Command, her teeth grinding. "Eric's dead." She murmured.

"What?" Mole asked.

Alec nodded. "We can't figure it out… I mean… we found this." He held up a leaded phial. "Lydecker swabbed it and had a look, but he couldn't figure out what he was looking at."

"So what are we figuring?" Rosie asked, keeping her eyes trained on the map.

Max shrugged. "Someone got sympathetic. Not like they killed him, the phial was still in his hand." She sighed. "Mole, I need you to grab Luke. We need to bury him."

"Funeral?" he asked, chewing his cigar.

Max shook her head sadly. "No. Traitor." Mole nodded and followed Max back out the door.

Rosie sat down in her chair and pulled the map closer, tracing her finger along the route that Mole had indicated. She gritted her teeth as Alec sat down next to her, folding his hands on the table.

"I'm sorry about Eric." He murmured. Rosie nodded, but froze as he reached over and hooked a finger in the chain around her neck. "What's this?" he pulled until the dog tags emerged from under her shirt. "Since when are you wearing these again?" he asked, running his thumb along the stamped information.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Just… felt like it today, I guess."

Alec nodded. "You know, I saw the 'tigues in the laundry hamper." He cocked an eyebrow at her as she continued tracing the route, making notes on a pad of paper. "You going all nostalgic for the good ole soldier days?" when she didn't answer, he sighed. "Rosie, what did you do?"

She swallowed a lump in her throat. "He asked me to, Alec." She murmured. "Right after the… incident." Her eyes narrowed. "He asked Max to ask me to execute him." She stifled a sob, her hand flying to her mouth. "I couldn't do it… I thought about it, and the more I thought about it, the more I thought about the fact that it wasn't just me he endangered… it was you and I-I couldn't…" she choked on the words and Alec pulled her to his chest, folding her into a tight hug. "I couldn't risk him ever helping White again." She sobbed into his neck. "I couldn't do it myself, but I helped him do it to himself."

Alec kissed her hair and rubbed her back, cradling her carefully. "It's OK, Rosie. It's OK." He murmured softly.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: Thanks to my three fans :D I appreciate the reviews. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

Chapter Seventeen

Alec groaned and climbed into bed, inwardly sighing in relief that he was away from Mole and his damned utility tunnel. He smiled and rolled over, planting a soft kiss on Rosie's shoulder. He stroked her hair and smiled as he realized she was awake.

"I talked to Max." he murmured. "Just to make sure everything was OK with… you know." He smiled and kissed her shoulder again. "She respects what you did."

"That makes one of us." She replied softly.

"I respect what you did." He nudged her gently. "I can't hold it against you, Rose, you did what I wanted to do for six months." He sighed. "I wanted him dead too."

Rosie frowned and rolled over to face him. "Which is worse though, the fact that I helped him die or the fact that I made him wait six months before I did?"

Alec pulled a face and kissed her forehead. "Babe, you need to forgive yourself. If it had been me, or Max, or Logan… we wouldn't have hesitated."

She nodded sullenly. "Yeah. I know." She cracked a smile. "How bad are the utility tunnels?"

"Oh, God, don't remind me!" he groaned, burying his face in her neck. "Please don't remind me." He smiled and kissed her shoulder, then frowned slightly. "You smell… off." He pulled back to study her face.

Rosie shrugged. "Been hanging out in the lab a lot lately. Maybe it's the chemicals."

He shook his head. "No…" he nuzzled her neck, sniffing lightly. "It's you… it's just… off… it's weird." He pursed his lips, thinking. "I don't know." He smiled lightly. "Maybe it's me."

She rolled her eyes and pulled him into a kiss. _So make me smell like you_.

Alec smiled into her lips, pulling her closer. _With pleasure_.

*~*~*

Max sighed contentedly and took a sip of the pre-Pulse wine Logan had managed to get his hands on. She smiled and leaned back into his arms as he began trailing lazy kisses along her shoulder.

"You know…" he murmured. "This would be a lot more romantic if we weren't in Command."

She nodded, groaning. "I know… but as long as we've got units outside, I need to be here." Her head snapped to the door as Alec, Mole, and Dix entered, and then she stifled a laugh as she took in their state. Sopping wet, covered in mud, muck, and… _ew_… "What happened?" she called.

Mole scowled at his damp cigar, no longer lit, and then tossed it on the ground. "Miscalculated a few things." He grumbled, heading into his office.

"I'll say." Alec sighed. "Thank God I've got clothes in my office, Mole." He called after the trans-human. "I'd hate for Rosie to have to see me this way!"

"Rosie's not here." Max answered him.

"No, I know she's not _here_ here, but—"

"Alec, Max means that Rosie's out on a drop box run." Logan cut in.

Alec paused, an eyebrow raised. "Why?"

"She wanted something to do, the drop box in Sector Eight needed to be checked." She shrugged. "Rish is with her, don't worry."

He grimaced and headed out to his apartment. Since Rosie wasn't around, she couldn't complain if he tracked this… stuff… into the apartment. He sighed and stepped into the shower, allowing the water to wash away the aches and pains along with the sewage that had spewed forth from one of the storm drains Mole had _assumed_ was empty and could be used to run wire and cabling. _Assumed_ was the most important word. He groaned and began scrubbing, his thoughts wandering to Rosie and Rish and that damned Sector Eight drop box. They were headed for that one because Lydecker was expecting a package from some big government official… one who was aware of Project Manticore… aware of the Transgenics that were not only loose, but living, in Seattle, and aware of the fact that Max was drafting a proposal for a Transgenic Protection Act. _Right_.

*~*~*

Rosie pulled a face as Rish popped the lock on the steel drop box Lydecker had pointed them toward. She sighed and licked her lips as Rish pulled a manila envelope out and examined it carefully. "Odd place for a Manticore drop box, isn't it?"

Rish shrugged, his dark blue eyes narrowing as he felt the package carefully, checking for explosives. "I s'pose. Can't say it's a normal spot, but I guess it makes more sense than having us drive to Portland or San Diego." He smiled and handed it to her, watching as she stuffed it into her satchel. "Hey, do you… hear that?"

Her eyes narrowed as she listened carefully, concentrating, and then they widened as she heard the distinct clicking of a silencer being slid onto the barrel of a gun. She grabbed Rish by the shoulder and forced him down as a bullet whizzed past her ear. Rosie's eyes darted around, pupils expanding, zeroing in on two figures clad in black, at the top of the building across from them. "It's White." She hissed.

"I thought Max got rid of him!" Rish crouched lower, grabbed Rosie by the elbow, and took off.

Rosie shook her head, snatching her arm back as they blurred down the road. "No. She tied him up and left him in the sewers… Obviously they found him." She glanced back. White and his friend were closing in. "Rish, we have to split up."

"No way! Alec'll kill me if I don't get you back to TC!"

"We don't have a choice!" she cried. "You've got the cell phone. Call Max, tell her what's going on." She veered into an alley and blurred down a side street, glancing back just in time to watch White slide around the corner behind her. She knew he'd stopped, knew he was raising his gun to fire on her, and she did the only thing she could, tearing off across the street, but she buckled as the bullet punched through her right shoulder and she collided with the wall.

White sneered as he closed in just as Rosie was pushing herself up off the ground, groaning and clutching her shoulder. "Ow. That looks like it hurts." He grabbed her injured shoulder and squeezed, closing his eyes and smiling as she screamed, before throwing her to the ground. "You should've given me Four-Five-Two when you had the chance, Four hundred." He grunted, landing a hard blow to her stomach. "Should've stayed locked up in _Transgenic City_, safe… for now." He aimed another kick at her stomach, but as his foot collided with her, she locked her arms around his leg and pulled his feet out from under him.

She leapt to her feet and tore off again, breathing hard as the pain in her shoulder increased exponentially. She grunted, blinking back tears, and concentrated. _Alec_…

_Rosie? What's wrong?_

_White._

_Tell Rish—_

_Rish isn't with me. We split up. _She bit her lip and leapt the fence, crossing from Sector Eight into Sector Five. She swayed for a moment and squeezed her shoulder in an attempt to stem the blood flow. _Alec… I'm not gonna make it all the way back to TC… I've got a bullet in my shoulder… and I'm pretty sure some broken ribs._

_Where are you?_

_Five. Corner of Beech Crescent and MLK._

_OK, Rosie, you're about three clicks from Jam Pony. It's on Fairfield._

_What's that got to do with anything?_

_I'll meet you there. Take cover inside, I'll be there as soon as I can. I'll have Max and Logan track down Rish._

_Ok._ She sighed and tore off down another side street, dodging around transients crowded around fire barrels and Sector Police on patrol before ducking down behind a dumpster. She slid to the other side and peered further down the alley to the sign that read _Jam Pony Messenger Service – Ride With Pride!_

She squared her jaw and crept down the alley to the back door, jerrying it open as fast as she could and sliding inside. Rosie sighed and slid down the wall just as someone cocked a shotgun.

"Don't move! I'll shoot!"

She rolled her eyes. "Please don't make me disarm you." She whispered hoarsely.

The lights flipped on and a middle-aged, bespectacled man came into view, aiming the gun at her, his eyes wide. "You a Transgenic?" she nodded. He cocked an eyebrow at her appraisingly and lowered the shotgun. "You've been shot."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me." She sighed. "I'm Rosie, by the way… my husband told me to come here… he won't be long."

His eyes narrowed. "Reagan Ronald… you can call me Normal. Who's your husband?"

"Alec Mc—"

"Alec?" he cried. "How is he?"

Rosie smirked. "I'm sure he'll be much better once this bullet's out of my shoulder and he convinces Max to restrict my duties to nothing more than perimeter runs." She raised an eyebrow at him. "So you're the guy they worked for?" he nodded. Rosie sighed and leaned her head back against the wall. "Great." Her eyes widened suddenly and she stood shakily. "Normal, you got a… bathroom?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Through there." She stumbled into the bathroom and closed the door, leaning over the sink as pain ripped through her gut and she crumpled. "You OK in there?" Normal tapped lightly on the door.

"Yeah!" she cried, realizing too late that it sounded strangled.

Normal opened the door and pushed in, kneeling down beside her as she slumped against the wall. "You're not OK." He looked at the blood smeared across the tile floor, his eyes veiled as it traveled up to her blood-soaked jeans. "It's gonna be OK."

The back door flew open, slamming against the wall. "Rosie!"

"In here, Alec!" Normal called, waving a hand out the bathroom door. "She's in bad shape."

Alec blurred into the bathroom, cradling her carefully. "Thanks, Normal." He murmured.

"You guys got a medic wherever you're hiding?" Alec nodded. Normal sighed and licked his lips, thinking carefully. "Tell them… to check her levels." Alec frowned at him. "Just trust me, Man. Check her levels." He patted Rosie's head gently. "Take care of her."

"Thank you, Normal." He murmured.

"Just one question… why'd you send her here?"

Alec gave him a tight smile. "I had a feeling you'd keep her safe."

*~*~*

Lydecker sighed and emerged from the back room, closing the door behind him. He swallowed a lump in his throat and wandered over to where Alec and Max stood, near his desk. "She's sleeping. Took a while to dig the bullet out, it didn't go all the way through… she lost a lot of blood, but thankfully, most of it wasn't from her shoulder."

Alec frowned. "She wasn't shot anywhere else, Deck. If it didn't come from her shoulder, where'd it come from?"

Lydecker closed his eyes tightly, gritting his teeth. "Alec… I'm sorry, but… I couldn't save the baby."

Alec's eyes widened and he glanced quickly to Max and then back to Lydecker. "Baby?" he whispered hoarsely. "What baby?"


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: Thanks Zoe, for pointing out what I only now realized. Seems no matter how many spaces I put between the paragraphs, the net will jerk it up, so I have edited all chapters with a *~*~* to indicate a change in time or scene. I appreciate all the feedback :D

Chapter 18

"What baby?" Alec yelled as Lydecker shifted uncomfortably. "What baby?"

Lydecker swallowed again and cleared his throat. "I checked her levels… like your friend suggested." He sighed. "I estimate she was four… possibly five weeks pregnant." Alec's face fell and Max put a worried hand on his shoulder as he stopped breathing for a moment. "I don't think Rosie was even aware… she probably didn't have any symptoms." He murmured.

"Alec?" Max whispered, squeezing his shoulder.

"It was the blows to her stomach that triggered the miscarriage." Lydecker continued. "From what I can tell, her uterus is bruised… but otherwise undamaged and she'll be able to carry a child to term… though she'll probably need to be observed closely during the first trimester." He sat down behind his desk. "And she'll need to see a specialist soon… to make sure everything's OK."

Max nodded. "I'll have Logan get in touch with Dr. Shankar." She squeezed Alec's shoulder again. "Alec, are you OK?"

"That's why she smelled off…" he mumbled. "Like her, but like something else too." They cringed as Alec's teeth ground together and jumped when he suddenly wheeled around and implanted his fist in the wall, growling fiercely. He pounded the wall again, his breathing ragged, and he suppressed a sob, letting his forehead rest against the cool drywall. "Is she actually asleep, Deck?" he whispered softly.

Lydecker shot a worried glance at Max, who nodded mutely. "No… I think she's in shock." Alec nodded and strode over to the back room, pushing the door open quietly and sliding inside before closing it again.

Rosie was lying on her side, curled up into a tight ball, her arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. Her hair was pulled into a disheveled ponytail… Lydecker's work, no doubt, to keep it away from her shoulder wound while he dug the bullet out. Alec's eyes narrowed as he took in the bruising and small scrapes on her face from where she'd collided with the brick wall and the concrete and felt another growl threaten to escape.

He schooled his features and pulled the chair from the corner around the table so that he could sit down in front of her. He carefully brushed several strands of hair out of her swollen eyes, letting his thumb linger on her cheek to wipe away the tears.

"I didn't know." She whispered.

Alec nodded. "I know." He reached out and grasped her hand, squeezing her fingers lightly.

She shook her head slowly, her face crumpling as more tears trickled from the corners of her eyes. "I never should have gone on that run." She choked a sob and curled even tighter. "I was bored and wanted something to do and it cost us our…" she sobbed again, unable to finish and Alec hugged her tightly, pulling her off the table and into his lap.

"It's not your fault, Rosie." He murmured, kissing her hair. "It's not your fault."

*~*~*

Dr. Shankar stepped out into the waiting room and her eyes immediately found Rosie. She pressed her lips into a thin line and took a deep breath. "Rosie?" she asked and the young woman hunched in the corner turned her head a fraction. "I'm Dr. Beverly Shankar."

Rosie nodded and stood, following her back into the dingy exam room. She kicked off her shoes, took the gown offered, and removed her pants and underwear, using the gown to shield herself from view. She hopped up on the exam table and laid back, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the ceiling.

"Logan tells me you took several blows to the stomach?" she nodded. Dr. Shankar pulled on a pair of sterile gloves and applied a small amount of lubricating gel to her fingertips. "This'll be uncomfortable." Rosie winced at the invasion. "Tender?"

"I got shot, hit a wall, hit the ground, and got kicked in the stomach multiple times." She mumbled, rolling her eyes. "So yeah, it's tender."

Dr. Shankar nodded. "Any tenderness in your breasts? Pain in either side?" Rosie shook her head. She sighed. "I'd like to schedule a D and C. That's a—"

"Dilation and curettage." Rosie finished. "I know what it is and how it goes." She moved her eyes to the wall. "Go ahead."

"We can do it tomorrow… You won't be able to have anything to eat or drink because of—"

"I haven't had anything to eat or drink today… and you can't anesthetize me." She blinked back more tears. "My body'll just metabolize it too quickly and I won't go to sleep. You might as well just do it now."

Dr. Shankar inhaled sharply. "Rosie, it's a very uncomfortable procedure."

"I'm accustomed to pain." She spared the older woman a swift glance. "Do it."

*~*~*

Max groaned and threw her pen down. "You know, she didn't know… Why's it taking so long?" she leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest.

Logan frowned, eyeing her with something akin to disgust. "Max, she and Alec are in mourning. Have you stopped to consider how they must be feeling right now?" Max shrugged and Logan sighed, leaned forward, and folded his hands on the table. "Their instincts are pretty damn strong… not just the ones all Transgenics have… but their instinct to protect each other… protect their offspring. Regardless of the fact she didn't realize she was pregnant, Rosie is probably feeling that it's some failing on her part… and Alec is probably feeling that he failed her… failed to protect her. Let them pull together. Let them heal."

She pulled a face. "I'm not trying to be insensitive." She sighed and her eyes took on a look of pleading helplessness. "But I _really_ need my Ex. O. and Ops Officer."

Logan nodded. "Give them time."

*~*~*

"You want some oatmeal?" Rosie shook her head and continued staring at the ceiling. Alec sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching out to lay a hand on Rosie's cheek. "Water? Some Sea Rations? We've got orange juice." She rolled over onto her side and Alec frowned at her back. "Rosie, say something… _anything_." She twitched the blanket up over her head and he watched the lump that was her curl in on itself. He nodded mutely. "OK. You tell me if you need anything." He leaned back against the headboard and gently ran his fingers across her back.

*~*~*

Max slid into the chair across from Alec and glanced carefully around Crash before leaning forward and helping herself to a shot of whiskey from the bottle he'd purchased. "How is she? I figured you'd be with her."

Alec grimaced as he took a large gulp of the amber liquid in his glass. "She doesn't want me." He mumbled, his eyes veiled and shadowed. "She doesn't talk, she doesn't move… she just stares at the ceiling."

"Come on, that can't be right."

He smirked. "Yes, that's right, I forgot. She got bored with the ceiling yesterday, so she stared at the wall for about an hour." His tongue darted out quickly to moisten his lips and he took another long drink. "She won't eat, either… she's wasting away before my eyes and I can't do a thing about it. I tried to force-feed her oatmeal this morning and got thrown across the room for my trouble."

Max nodded. "She's got a lot on her mind… food's probably not high on the list once you factor in everything that's happened."

"I know." He ran his finger around the rim of the glass. "We have to find White, Max." he murmured. "I want revenge."

"I know."

"No, you don't know." He snarled. "It's not just about what he's done to Rosie, or the baby… it's _everything_. Though… part of me wants him to know what it feels like." His lip curled.

"You don't mean that." Max couldn't mask the shock she felt.

He shrugged. "Part of me wouldn't wish losing a child on my worst enemy." He licked his lips again. "But another part of me…" he sighed. "Let's just say that if there is a Hell, I hope there's a special place in it reserved just for him."

"White'll get what's coming to him."

"Yeah? When?" he challenged. "We're always on defense, we never go after him." He scowled into his glass as he drained the whiskey. He coughed lightly and refilled it.

Max puzzled a moment before answering. "We can't risk—"

"Don't tell me we can't risk the public seeing us as cold-blooded killers, Maxie. He killed my child." He shook his head, blinking back tears. "I knew something was different, you know? She smelled different and I just brushed it off… let it go… but this really small part of me knew… and I was… hopeful that she was. I wanted that baby, even when I didn't know… I wanted to bring some small part of me and Rosie into the world." He smiled wistfully. "I imagined it'd have her pretty eyes and her brains… and I wondered if it'd have my hair or if that dark red is a dominant gene… and I wondered if it'd be a boy and maybe she'd mind if we called him Ben." His lip curled again and a lone tear slid down his cheek. "White took that away from us."

"You'll get it back. Dr. Shankar says there's no reason she can't—"

"Another baby isn't going to replace the one lost, Max."

"I didn't say that." She murmured. "I'm just saying that you'll be able to find all that out." She smiled wistfully. "We'll get White. Just be patient."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Alec rubbed his eyes and opened the front door slowly, a vain attempt not to wake Rosie. She'd have heard him as soon as he hit the sixth floor landing, but he tried anyway. He sighed and closed the door just as quietly, only to turn and find Rosie on the couch with a notepad propped on her knees, scribbling furiously.

"You're up!" he smiled and moved to sit with her, but she barely acknowledged him. "What's wrong?"

She shrugged and blew some loose hair out of her eyes, her brow furrowed in thought and her mouth tight with concentration. "White said something." She murmured. "I didn't even think about it until tonight."

Alec shook his head and squeezed her knee softly. "Don't think about him, Rose."

"That's just it… I have to… everything he says has some meaning… like inadvertently letting me know that Eric was the one snitching…" her eyes narrowed. "_Should have stayed locked up in _Transgenic City, _safe… for now._" She murmured to herself. "I think he's planning on attacking us here."

"He's not dumb enough to do that."

"Or just dumb enough." She argued. She sighed and leaned back against the arm of the couch. "Everything White says means something, Alec."

He cocked an eyebrow at her and lightly stroked her bare calf. "You sure you're not just looking for any reason to take White on?"

Rosie smirked… not her normal half-smile mixed with cockiness, but something darker, more angry than anything. "Like you're not." She mumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you suck at blocking me out when you sleep." She went back to writing. "I see the little fantasies you have, the dreams… impaling him and burning him alive… kicking him until his internals implode." Her lip curled. "Some of them are pretty tempting."

Alec blinked furiously, his mouth popping open in surprise. "Rosie… that's just my anger."

"You should be angry! You should be furious!"

"I am!" he ducked as the notepad went flying across the living room and Rosie was on her feet, her hands shaking as she attempted to reign in her emotions.

"I. Am. Furious. I want him dead. I want to see the light go out of his eyes, Alec. I want to hear him beg."

He stood cautiously, reached out slowly, but she knocked his hand away. "Rosie," he whispered. "I understand that. But we can't go after him unprepared."

"I am prepared!" she yelled.

"Are you?" he yelled back. "Or are you so blinded by rage right now that you just think you are? Do you remember _helping_ Eric commit suicide? You nearly lost it, you were sickened with yourself! You're not a killer!" he moved and yanked her to his chest, holding her tightly as she struggled, pounded on his chest, and then a sob ripped through her. "We will win this, Rosie." He murmured. "And when we do… when the time comes…" he kissed her hair. "We'll do it together."

*~*~*

Max sighed into her cup of coffee and glanced around at the residents of Terminal City she'd gathered in Command… Her Officers… Logan, Alec, Rosie, Biggs, Mole, Luke, Dix, and Joshua. Her eyes lingered the longest on Rosie, whose face was finally all one color again, save for a patchy scar over her right eye. They were all nursing coffee this morning—one of the many smuggled contraband items Logan thankfully still had enough contacts to provide them with; and they were all uneasy… all except Rosie, who was simply determined.

"If we're going to play this…" Logan was murmuring. "We have to play it safe."

"We play it safe, we don't play." Alec muttered, leaning back in his chair. He smiled and cupped his free hand around the back of Rosie's neck, fingers gently tracing her barcode. "If Rose is right, this has to be done hard and fast."

Rosie stared at Logan, registering his discomfort. "Look, I don't like it anymore than you do, but this has to be done if we're going to get to White _before_ he gets to us."

Max sighed. "What are you thinking?"

Rosie gritted her teeth. "First… we need the media on our side. Even if it's just one or two people, we need someone who'll report things from our end."

"I'm sure Eyes Only and Sketchy can handle that." Logan murmured, nodding.

"Second, we need someone who knows Ames White better than we do."

Mole bit down on his cigar so hard it split and they waited several minutes for him to finish spitting the dried tobacco into the garbage. "What (spit) the hell (spit) are you talking (spit) about?"

"The kid?" Max asked.

Rosie shook her head. "No, we want pissed off Ames White getting his ass handed to him… Not pissed off Ames White barging in when we're not ready for him."

"That agent… the one he works with…" Logan cocked an eyebrow. "Gottlieb, I think."

"I'll take point on him." Alec sighed.

"And we need someone in the PD…"

Max's brow furrowed. "Clemente… he seemed… well, more on the up-and-up than any of the others."

Rosie nodded. "I'll take point on him."

"Wait a minute." Dix interrupted, a hand in the air as though that would keep them from moving. "The government guy, I get… those guys go off the grid for days at a time and no one notices." He peered at Rosie through his half-goggle monocle. "But are you suggesting we kidnap a police detective?" everyone tensed, but Rosie seemed unabashed.

"Absolutely not." They relaxed. "I'm simply going to walk into the precinct, and walk right back out with him in tow." She gave them a wry smile.

Max considered her for a moment. "How's this help us, though?"

"Clemente's the detective that was originally in charge of the Jam Pony situation?" Max nodded. "So we already know he thinks White's an ass." Max shrugged in ascent. "Gottlieb? If he's working with White, he knows more about his personality… temperament… what he might do."

"We're assuming he'll spill all that for us." Mole grumbled.

Joshua nodded and huffed. "What do you need me to do, Rosie?"

Rosie smiled at him. "Josh, you're the one who's gonna get Gottlieb to talk to us." They all frowned. "Basic autonomic animal response to fear?"

"Fight or Flight!" Luke chimed in.

Rosie nodded. "And as much as humans would like to disprove it… they're still animals. No offense." She added, nodding at Logan.

"None taken."

"And," she continued, leaning forward. "In the absence of either the _fight_ or _flight_ options, what is an animal most likely to do?"

Max grinned and leaned back in her chair. "Whatever assures it the highest rate of survival."

"Exactly." Rosie took a sip of her coffee. "If we get the information we need from Gottlieb, the cooperation we need from Clemente…" she groaned. "A _place_… very important…"

"Mole, Dix, and I will handle that." Luke answered. "We'll find a place for the smack-down and make sure we know _everything_ about it."

"And then you'll know everything about it." Mole added, lighting another cigar.

"What's the goal here, though?" Logan asked warily. "I mean… what are we trying to accomplish?"

Rosie sighed. "You ever hear of Niccolo Machiavelli?" he nodded. "The end justifies the means."

"They taught us that at Manticore." Max murmured.

"Yeah, well, it still holds."

Logan's eyes narrowed. "Just hold on a minute… what's the end?"

Rosie swallowed lightly. "Kill Ames White."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Max sighed and pulled Logan's car to a stop in front of the Police Precinct. "You're sure about this?" she asked for what seemed the hundredth time. "I mean… I can do this… Clemente and I have history."

"That's why someone else has to do this." Rosie murmured, ducking her head to peer out the window. "He needs to see that it wasn't just you." She gave Max a wry smile. "Wish me luck." And she climbed out of the car and stepped quickly into the building.

"Good luck." Max whispered.

*~*~*

Rosie stepped up to the front desk and waited a moment for the officer to acknowledge her. She scanned the room quickly, estimating how long it would take for any of the dozen or so cops to reach for their weapons before laying her eyes back on the short, pudgy man in front of her. She smiled sweetly. "I'm here to see Detective Clemente."

"Name?" he grunted.

"Flo Rida." She answered, smirking a little. She'd had every intention of going with something conventional, but the temptation was too big. The officer cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at her. "Yeah, I know right. My parents were pretty cruel." She gave him another smile.

He nodded. "Right." And picked up the phone and quickly punched in an extension. "Detective, got a _Flo Rida_ here to see you." He nodded again. "Yes, Sir." He sighed and hung up, then pushed a yellow pad of paper toward her. "Sign in, please… then it's the second door on the left, down that hall."

Rosie obliged, then smiled again before taking off at an exaggeratedly slow pace down the hall. She found the second door on the left, a regular old wooden door, with an old, bent nameplate stuck to it with duct tape at the corners. _Det. Ramon Clemente_. She knocked lightly.

"Come on in!" Rosie pushed the door open and padded inside, then quickly closed the door behind her. She watched Clemente watch her, _examine_ her… from the tips of her black steel-toes to her leather pants and matching motorcycle jacket. "What can I help you with, Ms… _Rida_."

She gave him a bland smile. "Let's cut the crap, you can call me Rosie." She jerked the chair on her side of his desk out a bit and plopped down.

"Alright… Rosie."

"Or Four hundred, you know, whatever suits your fancy, I suppose."

Clemente's eyes widened and he attempted to remain casual. "Alright… Rosie… What can I do for you?" he pulled out the middle drawer and withdrew a pad of paper, then reached in again, acting as though he were looking for a pen.

Rosie cocked an eyebrow at him and leaned back in the chair. "Leave the gun where it is, Detective. Disarming you would hurt you more than me." His eyes widened further and she gave him a genuine smile. She leaned forward, grabbed a pen from the coffee cup labeled _World's Greatest Dad_ that had obviously been used to house pens for years… ink blotches all over it. She reached across the desk and handed it to him. "You can close the drawer now."

He blinked furiously and did as he was told. "What do you want?"

"Friend of mine sent me here… figures you can help."

"Your friend got a name?"

Rosie nodded, an impish grin curving the corners of her mouth. "Max." she heard him inhale sharply. "You see, we've got a problem, and we know you can help because you've been helping us all along."

"What makes you say that?" he asked defiantly.

"Oh, _come on_… seriously? With the National Guard, the Seattle PD, and the News Crews standing on our doorstep twenty-four, seven, getting in and out of Terminal City's pretty damn tough… I mean… you consider that one transgenic is easily outnumbered if they jump the fence, there's no escape tunnels, and the sewer access is pretty limited." He nodded. "_But_… there's this one spot right at the back gate… where there's no tanks… no squad cars… not even a camera… And I reckon you've got something to do with that." Her grin suddenly turned smug. "I mean, _I_ know we could get out if we wanted to… whole training for a secret government project and all that… but you? You made it downright _easy_ to run our supply lines through a street parallel to the closest tank."

Clemente gritted his teeth. "Your point?"

"My point is that you obviously believe less of the hype than the rest of your species. Max respects you. You played her fair."

"That's my job."

"Some people might disagree, given the amount of shakedowns that happen by officers." She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Max reckons you're on the level… or…" she shrugged. "More on the level than the rest, and we want your help."

"To do what?" he was slightly aggravated now, fighting to keep his tone even.

"That, I can't tell you." She sighed. "Max wanted to tell you herself. I'm just the messenger."

"So where's Max?"

Rosie shrugged. "Around. I can take you to her."

"Or bring her to me."

Rosie laughed and shook her head. "Detective, you don't really have a say in that… your options are simple. Option One, you walk out of here with me now, we climb into your squad car, and we drive. Option Two is a bit messier, but it involves me putting you in a sleeper hold, and then I _carry_ you out that window behind you, all the way back to where Max is waiting… and if I do that, I guarantee the sleeper hold will not be a great experience." She cocked an eyebrow at him while he considered her. She sighed and leaned forward. "Look, this is about Ames White." He perked up at that. "This war he's waging against us… we're losing… and we don't intend to keep losing… either ordinaries or Transgenics. We want it done and over and to do that, we're going to take the fight to him."

"From what I saw, he only ever wanted Max."

"Don't let that fool you." She growled menacingly. "He wants us all dead." She yanked down the collar of her jacket to show him the burn scar. "I nearly lost my life… I did lose my unborn child… We didn't start this war. We need you to help us finish it."

Clemente considered her for another long moment before conceding and grabbing his keys. "This better be quick. I can't be gone too long."

"Sure. In and out."

*~*~*

Otto Gottlieb groaned and flexed his fingers around his briefcase as he headed up the steps to his run-down brownstone. He quickly scanned the area, ensuring no one had followed him… damn Ames and his paranoid psycho-babble bullshit… everyone in the area knew he was NSA! No one would try to attack… or rip him off.

He rolled his eyes, jammed his key in the lock, and opened the door. He smiled into the darkness, closed the door, and reached over to turn on the light—only to meet someone else's hand locking around his wrist. He cried out as his arm was twisted behind his back and he felt his wrist break in a sickening crack.

"Oops… sorry about that." A familiar voice grunted, obviously not sorry at all. The attacker forced him against the wall, ripped his earpiece out, and began searching him for weapons, all the while keeping his arm in the most uncomfortable position possible. "Ooh… Glock Nine, nice gun." He heard the pistol skid across the hardwood. "Great boot knife too… you know they make smaller blades for shoes like these, right? Cuts down the risk of gouging yourself in the ankle… no pun intended." The knife slid into the opposite wall.

Otto felt the familiar bracelet-like metal of handcuffs being slapped on his free wrist, and then his arm was jerked and the attacker was much more gentle as he latched the cuff on his broken wrist. "What d'you want?" he grunted.

"Oh, you know… the usual… live, let live, liberty, freedom, that kind of thing… and someone promised me a flying car… not sure if there was any merit to it, but it sounded kinda cool."

The grip of a gun collided with the back of Otto's head and he saw black.

*~*~*

Otto groaned and slowly opened his eyes, feeling the familiar _thrum_ of an engine as he recognized the tan interior of his car. His eyes traveled upward to the front seat, where a familiar young man with brown hair and an obvious barcode tattoo was at the wheel.

"Four-Nine-Four?" he rasped.

"The name's Alec."

Otto attempted to sit up, but simply managed to roll off the backseat and get stuck on the floor, wedged behind the front seats. "What are you doing? It's a federal offense to—"

"Yeah yeah yeah, spare me will you?"

"Where are you taking me?"

Alec smirked, his eyes shining. "Don't worry, Otto. We're not gonna kill you. We just wanna talk."

"Sure."

"Believe me or not, I'm good either way. Only thing I care about is the fact that I bloodied up my fists yanking that low-jack out from under the chassis of this heap."

Otto's eyes widened. "What low-jack?"


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"You know…" Clemente groaned, "I'm counting steps… and corners." He scrunched up his face under the black swath of cloth covering his eyes.

Rosie snorted a laugh. "Detective, no offense… I'm sure you are… which is why I've been turning you in circles for the past fifteen minutes."

Clemente stopped suddenly and, feline grace or no, Rosie bumped into him. "You're shitting me!" he cried.

She ushered him forward again, turning him to the left down a corridor. "No. Sorry. Every precaution. Sure you understand."

He shrugged under her hands. "I guess… think you could loosen your grip a bit?"

"Nice try, Detective."

He smiled. "Had to try. Sure you understand."

Rosie smirked and steered him into the final room where Max, Alec, Joshua, Mole, Dix, Luke, and Logan all waited. She pressed him down into a chair while Mole closed and bolted the door behind them and then she whipped off the blindfold. "Detective Clemente, Max Guevera." She beamed down at him as Max stepped forward.

Clemente's brow furrowed as he took in the Transgenics surrounding him. "What the hell is this?"

"Easy." Max commanded, taking a slow step toward him, her hands raised in peace. "These are my officers." She nodded at Alec and Logan. "You've met them already… actually, I believe the only one you hadn't seen before today was Rosie."

His eyes narrowed at them. "Max, I'll be honest… I'm feeling a little ganged up on here…"

"That's not our intention." She sighed. "Look, Detective, I'm sure that Rosie filled you in on the basic gist—"

"You're going after Ames White." He scowled. "The question on my mind, is how the hell you expect me to help you with that."

The Transgenics and Logan glanced nervously around at each other. Finally, Dix stepped forward, smiling sheepishly. "We have a location… where it'll happen… what we need from you is… clearance."

"You want me to authorize you to commit murder?"

"No." Rosie sighed. "We want you _clear_ the location… of Sector Police." She gave him a pointed stare.

He stared around at them incredulously. "You're _serious_? That's it?"

"That's it."

Max sighed. "Look, White is involved in more than just the Government. You know that… those weren't your snipers that killed CeCe that day at Jam Pony… those weren't Government thugs we left tied up with White."

"I figured." He murmured.

"Look, it's honestly too hard to explain, and with the state of everything right now, it's not in your best interest to know." Max sighed and crouched in front of him. "All we need is for you to clear the area of Sector Police… there'll be nothing to investigate afterward."

He considered her for a moment, his teeth grinding together. To buy himself more time, he glanced at each of the others in turn… from Logan, leaning casually against the far wall, his glasses sliding down his nose; to Dix and Luke and Mole—two white lumpy heads and a strangely reptilian one, huddled in a corner, the reptile chewing a large cigar; to Joshua the dog-boy, whose eyes bespoke of pain beyond imagining, and respect for Max he could only show by following her; right down to Alec and Rosie, hands clasped, her tucked securely under his arm. He sighed and cocked his head toward Rosie. "You said something about losing a baby…" his eyes narrowed. "What did White have to do with that?"

Alec growled fiercely, but Rosie squeezed his hand tighter and laid her again against his chest. "Don't mind him, please." She murmured and then sighed. "White was trying to get to Alec… and subsequently Max… through me." She shrugged. "Let's just say I met his boots intimately one night and paid the price for getting away the first time."

"Must've been tough."

"It's tough on all of us… every day."

Logan shrugged away from the wall. "Detective, these people don't want to be hunted, they don't want to stay locked up in Terminal City… they just want to live… and the first step is to stop Ames White… once done," he shrugged heavily. "They'll be able to combat the PR, they'll be able to gain trust, they'll be able to show the world that they are _not_ simply genetically bred killers."

"_They_?" Clemente asked, craning around to look at Logan. "You're not one of them?"

Logan shook his head. "I've seen what these people can do, Detective. I've seen their compassion, their lust for life… and their respect for it… they are not what everyone thinks them to be. Let them prove it."

Clemente sighed, still thinking, and his eyes travelled around to each of them again. "Just tell me when."

*~*~*

After escorting Clemente back to his car (blindfolded, of course), the officers trooped into the holding cell where Otto Gottlieb was cuffed and blindfolded. Rosie's hand darted out and grasped Joshua's arm firmly, holding him back. He smiled down at her affectionately.

"Alright, Josh, this is your big moment." She murmured, eyeing Gottlieb through the doorway. He nodded. "Channel the bloodhound in you… and growl at him like you would at White… make him think you're going to tear him limb from limb."

He smiled his goofy smile, his lips parting to show his sharp teeth. "Got it, Little Rose." He replied, patting her head so hard her knees almost buckled. "Joshua fierce."

"Exactly." She nodded, smiling. "Joshua fierce." And they stepped into the cell and closed the door.

Logan yanked the blindfold off Otto's eyes and smiled widely, almost maliciously. "Hello, Otto."

Otto stared wide-eyed at each of them, his breath caught in his chest. "What do you freaks want?" his eyes narrowed to a glare. "If you brought me here to kill me, don't stall, just do it."

"Otto, Man, if we wanted you dead, I could have killed you without even making myself known to you." Alec sighed. Otto considered him for a moment.

Max licked her lips. "Otto, we want to know about White." Joshua punctuated her sentence with a sharp growl.

"Go fuck yourself, Four-Five-Two." He winced as Joshua lunged at him, snarling in his face.

"We could just let Joshua here eat you."

"Really? I thought he was big on breaking necks." Joshua's growling increased and he took a cursory swipe at Otto's face.

"That wasn't Joshua!" Max cried. "_That_ was White." She glared menacingly.

"You've gotta be joking… Like I'd believe you!"

Joshua growled again. "Joshua _loved_ Annie. Joshua tried to keep her safe from thugs."

Logan sighed. "Tell me, Otto… Everything White do on the level?" Otto simply glared at him. "I mean… that hostage situation at Jam Pony got pretty intense once those snipers fired on Max and the crew… Clemente called the PD snipers off." He shrugged. "And then that insertion team? You recognize any of them?"

"They were from another agency!"

"Why didn't you go in with them, Otto?" Alec asked. "I mean, White went in… why not you?"

"I wasn't cleared for the Op!"

"You hear that a lot?" Rosie asked just as Joshua growled again, pressing his snout to Otto's jugular.

Max sighed. "Otto, deep down, you know something's not right. White is _not_ answering to the Government… he answers to a higher power… and I don't mean the big G." she pursed her lips matter-of-factly. "You know something's up."

Otto chewed on that a moment, thinking about everything that had happened since he started working with White… up to and beyond the Jam Pony crisis. White was off, he knew it. He remembered watching the non-PD snipers taking aim, White barking orders to some unknown entity, and that blond girl getting hit in the chest… and those amped up tacticals on the insertion team… that upstairs space of Jam Pony looked like a bomb had gone off… and Max's team had still been standing. His brow furrowed as he thought it over. They hadn't _killed_ anyone. Not one single person. He wrinkled his nose as Joshua continued growling in his ear.

Max cocked an eyebrow at him. "Convinced yet?"


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Rosie sighed and hitched the food tray up in her arms as she entered the holding area. She smiled as Alec came into view, his back against the cell door. He checked over his shoulder, rolled his eyes, and stepped away to meet her with a soft kiss.

"Your shift?"

"Yup." She sighed. "He talking yet?"

"Nope." He smiled down at her and kissed his mark, relishing the fact that her shoulder was bare. "Don't take any crap from him." He warned.

"I won't." she smiled and kissed him again. "Don't worry, Mole's relieving me around midnight." Alec nodded and disappeared out the door. Rosie sighed again, opened the cell door, and stepped inside, setting the tray on the end of Otto's cot and pushing the door closed. "Dinner time, Otto." She gave him a half-smile. "Sorry, it's Sea Rations again… but at least it's not that weird… turkey thing… I had to sort through the boxes for an hour to find chili." Otto scowled at her from the head of the cot, sitting with his back to the wall, his hands cuffed to the side rails. She pulled the chair over to the cot, took a bottle of water from the side pocket in her khakis and quickly added water to the plastic heating bag. "Hope you don't mind, but I've never actually _had_ the chili… so sorry ahead of time if it sucks." She plopped the air-tight bag into the heating bag, folded the top over and set it aside.

Otto cocked his head to the side, watching carefully as she worked, her nimble fingers moving quickly. He glanced at her bare shoulders… he'd never seen her in anything less than a T-shirt or jacket before, but today she was wearing a black tank top. His eyes traveled to the red patch of a scar on her neck and then they caught sight of the teeth marks in her shoulder and he smirked.

"What's that?" he asked as she arranged the crackers on the tray, opening them carefully so they wouldn't break.

"What?" she asked, not looking up from the task at hand.

"On your neck?"

Rosie's hand flew to her neck, suddenly self-conscious. "It's a burn scar." She answered, glancing at her watch and grabbing the heating bag. She pulled the chili bag out, ripped it open with her teeth, and dumped it into a bowl. She placed a spoon in the chili, set the tray on Otto's lap, propped the water bottle against his leg, and quickly uncuffed his right hand. "Eat up before it goes from lukewarm to cold."

Otto took a tentative bite of the chili, grimacing as it hit his tongue. "So… how'd you get the burn?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "You actually trying to hold a conversation with me, Otto?"

"Take it for what it's worth."

She shrugged. "Your partner." He stared at her. "Ames was trying to lure Max and Alec into a trap… I got caught in the crossfire… barely got out with my life."

He popped a cracker into his mouth and sucked on it for a moment. "What about that bite? Ames give you that too?"

Rosie smirked. "No… that was Alec."

"Charming."

She shrugged again. "It's some residual… animal thing… marking your mate… making sure no one else will touch what's yours."

"Well there's an argument for treating you like people." He said sarcastically.

Rosie rolled her eyes. "And what do Ordinaries do when someone touches their significant other?"

"Get angry. Some get violent." He shrugged and spooned more chili into his mouth.

"Exactly!" she huffed. "You know, sometimes I think we're more human than humans for marking our mates… I mean humans? You guys are like _dogs_… Why don't you just piss on your girl's leg and get it over with?" he scowled at her. "By the way, I brought you a book." She reached into her other side pocket and withdrew George Orwell's _1984_. "It was all I could dig up on such short notice."

He nodded his thanks. "Why are you being so nice to a POW, Soldier?"

She rolled her eyes. "Otto, you're not a prisoner."

"Sure as hell not a guest."

"True." She sighed. "But you're not a prisoner… per se. We've been hospitable, haven't we? Three squares a day, you eat what we eat… as much water as we can provide, things such as books to occupy you…" he flinched as she laid a hand on his knee. "We're not the enemy, Otto."

"Then why am I being guarded by the Chain of Command?"

"Because we can exercise a modicum of control over our people… they won't attack you. Because _we_ say so." She laid her hand on his knee again and this time he didn't flinch. "We're not the enemy." She repeated lowly. "We just want to be allowed to live."

"You shouldn't _be alive_." He finished the chili and started in on the rest of the crackers.

Rosie sighed. "Otto, we may have been mixed together in test tubes, but we grew in a woman's womb like babies, we were born into this world like other babies… so what that we're smarter than most people… or stronger… or that we have military training. We were made to defend this country, we were made _in_ this country." She pursed her lips. "We just want to be allowed to live in peace. We want to be acknowledged as citizens, not some genetic mistake that can't be controlled. Our lives were nothing _but_ control… and now that we're out? Now that we have a say, we just want a life that doesn't include violence or a hidden agenda."

Otto smirked. "So when you figure out the talking isn't working on me, the torture will start?"

She shook her head. "No torture… we all agree on that… Well," she amended. "We who have a say."

"How decent of you."

"More decent than you'd do us." She fired back. "You know, Logan isn't the only human here. The man who raised us… trained us… he's here too. He'd like to give you a Russian Manicure." Otto raised his eyebrows in a question. "Rip your fingernails out." She explained and he pulled a face. "And if that didn't work, he'd break your fingers one by one… then he'd start in on your toes… then tiny slices in soft tissue like your inner arms and legs." She said all of this with a matter-of-fact tone, shrugging.

"So what you're saying is, it could be a hell of a lot worse."

She shrugged. "Could be." She sat back in the chair and stared at the wall. She glanced down at his broken wrist, splinted now, and covered in a cast, courtesy of Sam Carr. "How's the wrist? Any pain?"

He grimaced. "A little, yeah."

Rosie fished in her pocket and pulled out an orange bottle of pills. "Here. These are mine, but I don't need them… got them after the fire." She popped the top and handed him a pill.

"Thanks." He murmured, swallowing the pill without water. "Tell me something." She quirked an eyebrow. "Why are you being nice to me?"

She shrugged. "Because I'm a firm believer in the genuine goodness of humanity… guess it's pretty naïve, but I guess… deep down… Manticore couldn't beat that out of me… my faith in something better." She smiled wistfully. "My husband, Alec… he was twinned… Alec's second generation X-Five… his twin, Ben, was first gen." she puffed out her cheeks. "I met Ben once… a long time ago."

"He's the one that went psycho." Otto's eyes narrowed. "We got that file… Four-Nine-Three. We were trying to track him down, then we got word he was dead."

Her smile tightened. "I met him before all that." She leaned back in her chair. "Ben had this… wide-eyed innocence… it was so odd to see, in an X-Five… so battle-hardened. They got the worst of everything. He believed in the _Blue Lady_." Her smile widened again. "The Virgin Mary, but the Blue Lady to him. When he was taking care of me, making sure my bullet wound was healing… getting me to the border so I could meet up with my brother… he told me all about her, told me these… fantastic stories." She sighed and her eyes suddenly darkened. "_He_ made me believe that humans were innately good." She suddenly leaned across him and unlocked the other cuff. "So let me show you." She offered a hand to help him up and he accepted. "I'm gonna cuff you again, Otto. If you try to run, I will catch you." He nodded and put his arms behind his back.

Slowly, Rosie guided him out of the cell, down the corridor, and out the door into the bright sunshine that threw Terminal City into a bleached wasteland. They passed several Transgenics, X-Series and Transhumans alike, huddled in small clusters. Some were practicing martial arts while others talked quietly and even more glanced warily at Otto before disappearing into an abandoned building.

"That's Krav Maga they're doing." She explained, nodding at a group of X-Sevens in the midst of a sparring match. "It's a great way to blow off steam."

"Or a great way to keep in shape." He muttered, but then he glanced around, squinting. "Seems everyone's… bunkering down."

"Of course they are." She was suddenly aghast. "We have God knows how many number of tanks, National Guard, Army, Marines, Black Ops, Special Forces, Seals, Delta Force on our doorstep and at any moment, they might bust through. These people don't _want_ to fight." She led him down a side street and they found another group playing Wall Ball. The small blue ball they were using flew off course and Rosie deftly caught it before it struck Otto in the face. She smiled and tossed the ball back into play.

"This is… crazy."

"New customs, foreigners in a way… they always are a little bit crazy to those who don't understand." She smiled and they walked into the Command Center. Max was the first to see them, and she cocked an eyebrow at Rosie, shooting her a look that clearly said _I may have to kill you for this_.

"What's all this?" he breathed, eyes wide as he stared around at the video monitors.

"Security system. Watching the perimeter." She nodded to one of the monitors and he followed her gaze just in time to see a couple of X-Threes skim past the camera, on a perimeter run, no doubt.

Otto swallowed a lump in his throat and blinked several times, sweat suddenly beading on his forehead. He wandered over to Max and Logan and looked up at them imploringly. "You… don't want a war." Max shook her head. "You don't hurt people if you don't have to."

"Correct." Logan murmured.

Otto sighed, the air coming out in a great puff. "Alright… I don't want a war either."


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: Hi all. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've had a lot going on personally and I didn't want to half-ass it and end up ass over teacups with this story. The rest of what's happening takes a lot of forward planning on my part. I hope you enjoy this and please know that I am working on the next chapter. J

Chapter Twenty-Three

Otto sighed and leaned back in his chair, gently cradling a cup of steaming coffee with his good hand. "If you attack Ames, it'll make you all look bad."

"We're not worried about that." Logan replied. "We have inside help to ensure no Sector Police will be around."

Max leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table between them, her hair falling over her shoulders. "Will White call in NSA?"

The agent shrugged. "He may… I'm not sure… More than likely, he'd order me to call for backup." They considered him for a moment before Alec piped up.

He was smiling wistfully at Rosie to his right, his fingers lightly tracing the ridges of her barcode. "If he does, you can pretend to and just not."

"I can, but how would I get out of there?"

Rosie smiled reassuringly. "I'll make sure you're out of there. I'll get you out myself before the smackdown starts." Otto shifted uncomfortably. "Otto, he's not going to come alone. He'll bring his Conclave buddies."

Otto raised an eyebrow at her. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because we'll make it known that it's an army of Transgenics… including Max, who they want more than anything." Mole answered around the mutated brown stub wedged between his teeth.

"What makes you think your plan's so solid?"

Logan smiled. "Rosie here excelled at Tactical Planning, Insertion, and Evasion. She managed to map out our every move for the next three months… we're down to the last month. It's time… and she's altered her plan accordingly with every move White makes." He nodded proudly at the small redhead.

Otto eyed her appraisingly. "All that belief in the innate goodness of humanity and you excelled at War Games?" she shrugged slyly. "Talk about an oxymoron." He grumbled and then leaned back. "So what's the plan?"

Rosie inhaled deeply. "We'll only tell you your part, Otto. It's best if you don't know what'll happen after… any questions come up, you genuinely won't have the answers." He nodded his understanding. "So Max'll make a call to White's cell phone, the number which you will provide us." She nodded pointedly and he nodded his ascent. "She'll set the time and the place and the conditions, which of course, White will ignore in hopes of controlling the situation." Otto nodded again. "You'll arrive, he'll see how many of us there are and decide he wants NSA help… he'll give the order to call for reinforcements, and you'll fake the call; after which, I'll swipe you without his notice, escort you a safe distance away where a car will be waiting… then I'll double back and join the fight."

Otto raised an eyebrow at her. "What happens if you lose?" he asked pointedly. "Or haven't you factored that in yet?"

"I have, actually." She nodded. "Max was twinned at Manticore… turns out the entire X-Five series was… but you know that… Sam's agreed to join in… she hates White as much as the rest of us."

"She's your bait?"

"She's one of them." Rosie conceded. "He can't tell them apart and it gives Max a slightly higher chance of survival."

"What about the rest of you?" his eyes widened in shock at her preparations to protect her leader.

Rosie shrugged. "Haven't you ever been willing to die for something, Otto?" he shrugged indifferently. "Freedom is worth dying for… we all know it. We'd rather be dead than enslaved… and if we die in battle, at least we're dying on our own terms.

Otto stared at her for a moment. "You know, if you give him the location ahead of time, he'll have his people set up and waiting."

"We're counting on it." Mole replied around his cigar.

Logan groaned and wandered back into Command, his eyes scanning quickly until he found Max in her office, the door ajar, and Rosie and Alec at the table in the center, going over the map of the soon-to-be warzone. Their eyes kept darting to Max and back to the map as though they we speaking of the battle plan and thinking something they didn't want Max to hear. Logan frowned and joined them at the table.

"Everything alright?" he asked suspiciously.

Alec shrugged. "Always alright." He cast another glance over his shoulder at Max and then continued making notes along the edge of the map.

Footsteps alerted them to Max's approach and Alec and Rosie immediately bent closer over the map. "Hey you." She smiled and kissed Logan sweetly. "You get Otto home OK?"

"Yeah, fine. Everything alright here?"

"Peachy." She frowned as Alec rolled his eyes. "What?" he shrugged.

Do it. Rosie commanded him mentally.

I can't. It's… too weird. It's not our place, Rose.

Rosie's eyes narrowed. If it were me in her place, would you let me fight?

No. He answered easily.

Then give Logan that chance too.

Alec sighed. You do it… she won't hit you.

Rosie glanced up to find Max's eyebrows raised in question and she sighed. "Top, can I have a word?" Max nodded and Rosie shoved away from the table and followed her into the office. Rosie shut the door behind them and turned slowly to face her leader. "Top," she started slowly.

"Jesus, Rosie! Just spit it out!" Max cried, then flushed slightly. "I'm sorry… Been feeling pretty short-tempered lately." She smiled meekly in apology.

The redhead nodded. "Top, when was your last heat cycle?"

Max quirked an eyebrow at her. "Wow. Personal."

"Answer the question."

Max considered her a moment before rolling her eyes and conceding. "About three weeks ago. Why?"

Rosie swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat before responding. "Max… you smell different… I noticed it, but I didn't understand what it meant… Alec… he recognizes the hormones from when I…" she cut herself off. "I think you should have Lydecker do a blood test."

"Looking for what, exactly?"

"Human Chorionic Gonadotropin." Rosie sighed as Max's face turned confused. "The hormone released during pregnancy."

Max's eyes widened. "Oh… my…" her hand flew to her stomach. "I don't… feel any different."

"Except short-fused." Rosie countered. "But it's still very early…" she shoved away from the door, her hand coming to rest on the knob. "Get a blood test, Top… I'll start making contingencies based on your absence." She yanked the door open and headed out, nodding for Alec to follow her.

*~*~*

"No!" Logan yelled, his face contorted into a mixture of rage and worry. "Absolutely not!"

"You're not going to stop me, Logan!" Max fired back, her dark hair falling into her eyes. "This is our one shot and I am not going to miss it!"

"You say that like it's a game! How can you be so cavalier about our child?"

Rosie and Alec switched their focus between the two as though watching a tennis match. They shifted uncomfortably as more and more of those working in Command sidled in to watch the explosions occur.

"It's not a game! It's very serious! But I can't sit back and let everyone else go in there and fight!" Max huffed.

Logan shook his head, gritting his teeth so hard an audible crack made Rosie cringe. "Rose has come up with every possible contingency."

"It's true, Top." Rosie piped up. "I've analyzed every approach. We're ready, with or without you, we're ready."

"No!" Max growled. She sounded so dangerous now that Rosie seemed to shrink.

Logan ground his teeth again. "Fine. Do what you want. You always do. I'm done." He stormed out, shaking his head. Rosie cast Alec a sad look and followed Logan out.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Max sighed and braced her arms on the table. "Go on." She murmured.

"Go on what?" Alec asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Say whatever you're going to say… whatever that may be… whatever Rosie had to leave to avoid saying…"

Alec shook his head. "Max, you don't need me to tell you anything. You're doing a damn good job telling yourself all those things."

Creeping sounds echoed around the room and Mole, Dix, and Luke joined them at the table. "Is it true, Max?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, Kid," Mole added. "You really got a bun in the oven?" Max simply nodded. "Well, I agree with Logan. You're no good to us."

"I can fight!"

"Is it really worth it?" Dix asked. "If you're pregnant, your first priority should be on what's best for the baby."

Max glared. "For God's sake, it's not even a fetus yet! It's still an embryo!"

"Technically you're eight weeks along now, Max." Alec sighed. "We hit fetus territory two weeks ago." At her glare, he shook his head. "Fine. Do whatever, but I can't guarantee that Rosie and I will stand behind you if you do this." He shoved his chair away and stood.

"You'd abandon your unit?" she asked, stunned.

Alec considered her for a moment. "If we don't know where you're head's at, you're unfit for command. I never thought I'd ever say that, but it's true. I can't speak for Rosie, but I can speak for me… and speaking as someone who involuntarily lost a child, I won't be behind you if you do this… I can't." he left then, shaking his head.

Max huffed lightly, glancing around at Mole, Luke, and Dix. "And you three?"

"I don't know, Max." Dix sighed. "I'd have to think about it."

"M-maybe you just could not let it come to that?" Luke asked. They all turned to watch Mole.

He chewed his cigar stub, suddenly looking nervous. "What are you all looking at me like that for? Like I discriminate when I get to shoot something?" he turned on his heel and headed back to the control room.

*~*~*

Rosie hunkered further down over her maps and continued scribbling notes and extra routes as Mole hovered over her shoulder tapping areas and commenting in a hushed tone. Alec was busy assisting Dix and Luke with rewiring the exoskeleton for Logan in an attempt to give him more power.

Max watched them all from her office as she pretended to be going over supply routes and lists with Mole. Conceding defeat, she sighed and stepped into the main chamber and over to face Rosie. "This isn't your business." She said lowly. "This is my call to make." Rosie simply nodded, her hair falling down to create a scarlet curtain between them. "Good. This is over then."

The curtain of hair shook from side to side in silent waves. Rosie was silent a moment longer before finally stifling a snort. "You are so damn selfish." She mumbled.

"I beg your pardon?"

The redhead stood, tossing her hair over her shoulder, and glared imperiously up at Max. "You're selfish. I didn't stutter."

"This isn't your—"

"Save it! We've heard it and it's not good enough!" Rosie yelled, forcing everyone in the room to stop and stare. "It's not good enough anymore." She took a deep breath and continued in a level voice. "Maybe you're so emotionally inept you can't understand what you're putting Logan through… maybe you don't care enough that there are thousands of us here in Terminal City willing to die for you. And you aren't even willing to take the necessary steps to protect your child." Her eyes narrowed into green slits. "Shame on you." She rolled up the map, slid it easily into a protective cylinder, and placed the cap in it. "I will not follow you for that. I won't die for you if you aren't willing to live for your child."

Max shook her head as though trying to clear it. "We don't need you to proceed."

Alec sighed, shaking his head. "Yeah, you do Max. I'm the only one besides her that knows every step we're supposed to take." He squared his shoulders and jaw. "And I've already told you I won't follow you if you do this."

Max glanced back and forth between them. "You've got to be kidding me! Seriously?" she threw her hands up in exasperation. "It's a bundle of tissue."

"That bundle of tissue," Rosie growled. "Has a heartbeat and reflexes."

Luke stepped forward. "I'm not comfortable with you fighting either, Max."

Behind him, Dix shook his head in agreement.

Mole shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? I'm not picky about who I shoot but… even I have standards."

Max's eyes narrowed. "All of you?" she looked at each of them in turn, hoping to shame them. "All of you?"

"Me too, Max."

She turned to glare at Logan, standing in the doorway with Biggs, Gem, and Sam.

"And me." Gem sighed, shaking her head apologetically.

Biggs shrugged. "I can't, Max. Sorry."

Sam, ever Max's doppelganger, glared at Max in an attempt to shame her. "I'm not going to risk my life when you won't preserve life. Why would I die for you?"

"All of you at once? What is this? Mutiny?"

Rosie shrugged as Alec crossed the room to put an arm around her waist. "I guess so. We've made our decision, which is based heavily on your decision. What you do with it is up to you, but you're no good to us in a fight. You're too slow, you're off-balance, you're more trigger-happy."

"We stand by our decision, Max." Alec murmured. "You're no good to us. You won't fight. if you do, you fight alone."


End file.
